Hong Kong won’t build casinos to compete with neighbouring Macau, despite the challenge posed by the gambling mecca’s rapid transformation into a tourism and convention hub, Hong Kong’s leader said on Thursday.

“The answer is no,” said Chief Executive Donald Tsang when asked whether the city might construct its own casinos after a major push by some tourism operators and the pro-business Liberal party to build a casino resort.

Macau’s slew of new casinos, including the world’s largest — “The Venetian”, which opened in August — have drawn tourists away from Hong Kong. The former Portuguese enclave’s gaming revenues hit US$7 billion in 2006, leapfrogging the Las Vegas strip.

Macau has also begun to eat away at Hong Kong’s convention and exhibition business, which it has long dominated.

Macau’s “Venetian” casino resort brought 1.2 million square feet (110,000 square metres) of new convention space to the market — almost twice the space of Hong Kong’s flagship convention centre.

But Tsang said Hong Kong wouldn’t follow Macau’s lead, partly to avoid cutting off its neighbour’s economic lifeblood.

“With our managerial skill and administrative ability, I think we can easily set these (casinos) things up, but it would certainly be to the detriment of Macau’s development,” Tsang told a group of foreign reporters.

“I don’t believe we should engender stiff … competition between the two,” he said of Hong Kong and Macau.

Singapore, meanwhile, has ploughed ahead with plans for two multi-billion-dollar casinos, including one on Sentosa island.

• Hong Kong IPO of Sociedad de Jogos de Macau’s postponed HONG KONG (AFX) - Sociedad de Turismo Diversoes de Macau (STDM) will postpone until July the start of the 15...
• Wynn pays record price for Chinese Ming vase May 31, 2006 - An early Ming vase, more than 600 years old, has become the most expensive Ming porcelain...
• Macau is Fast Overtaking Hong Kong in Property Sector Macau is fast overtaking its rival Hong Kong as the fastest-growing area for residential hotel and retail property prices. One...

• Hong Kong Domestic Helpers: The Key To More Convenient Living Having a hired help at home can be expensive, but many people today have come to accept the fact that having Hong Kong domestic helpers...
• China stretches the imagination with world's longest sea bridge The bridge is one component in a plan issued in January by China's top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, which aims...
• Saving Money by Slowing the Work Lunch Cash Drain This post is about money that is lost (and that can be saved) just by being more disciplined in deciding what and how you are...