Melco expects Japan license bids by 2020

Melco International Development (0200) will focus on developing its business in Japan over the next few years, said chairman and chief executive Lawrence Ho Yau-lung, adding that he expects Japan to launch bids for casino licenses not early than 2020. Ho earlier said that he favors building a casino in Osaka rather than Tokyo because there are more opportunities to develop the smaller Japanese city as an entertainment destination.

Gaming revenues in Macau in the second half is expected to increase by at least 10 percent, said Ho, adding that the group is preparing for betting during the 2018 World Cup.

Macau's gambling industry has revenues of about US$3 billion (HK$23.4 billion) a month.

Meanwhile, Macau has told financial institutions to tackle the illegal use of UnionPay cards to evade exchange controls, as part of China's latest move to clamp down on illicit capital outflows.

The announcement from Macau's monetary authority adds to a series of measures being implemented in the Chinese territory as it cracks down on such "illegal acts".

The warning to banks came after pawn shops operating in Macau casinos had their UnionPay point-of-sale terminals removed, state broadcaster TDM said.

Many mainland Chinese used UnionPay cards to circumvent cash withdrawal limits of 20,000 yuan (HK$24,546)) a day, and either use that money to gamble or transfer it abroad.

The removal of the point-of-sales machines by Macau banks means that pawn shops inside the casinos are now no longer offering UnionPay cash-back services.

The Monetary Authority said banks needed to undertake "ongoing monitoring of the merchants" in order to prevent the use of point-of-sales (POS) machines "to conduct illegal activities."

Typically, a customer in Macau can go to one of nearly 200 pawn shops inside casinos or on the streets that sell watches or jewelry, and swipe their card to get cash without buying anything, skirting capital controls.