The industry is starting to feel the impact of the trade war between the US and China, according to Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein.
Taking on stage at Bernstein’s 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, he underpinned the elevation of challenges that have come for the firm in Asia as a result of the trade war since Trump took office.
A wide spectrum of issues have come to the fore, according to Goldstein, culminating in a far more challenging climate for the firm to operate.
He emphasised that the world is in “an awkward place” as things stand, adding that there is a significant level of uncertainty around the relationship between China and the US – fuelled by tariffs and the trajectory of China.
Nonetheless, he underpinned that there is long term optimism and faith in the Chinese market even amidst current struggles.
At the heart of this optimism is the firm being rewarded for its investments and continued increase of its visibility in Macau, which remains an immediate focus for the operator.
He stated: “We are the biggest investor in Macau and we’ve not been rewarded with the returns we’d like to see. I’d like to see us do a lot better.
“We just have to wait for a better day in Macau, and also help ourselves by performing better, by operating better. I’m going over to Macau in about 10 days, and the whole week is about how we increase our visibility, our positioning, our incentives to drive more EBITDA into our buildings in Macau, because we’ve been outperformed by other people.
“We’ve not done as well as we could have done competitively and our last quarter was disappointing, so we’re hoping for improvement in our operating philosophy and approach to accelerate our own EBITDA within the confines of today’s Macau market.”
Goldstein also stressed the consequences for the global economy on a strained relationship between the US and China – warning that the “world is watching” when it comes to developments between the two super powers.
He added: “It needs to be stronger because the whole world benefits when China and the US work things out together.”
