REAL ESTATE, CONSTRUCTION & TOURISM

Building Opportunities

Macau is quickly establishing a strong reputation as a regional entertainment, exhibition and conference centre led by the gaming industry. It combines excellent resort facilities and entertainment, unique Chinese and Portuguese heritage, a large variety of cuisine and an outstanding location at the mouth of the Pearl River. Numbers of visitors are growing in leaps and bounds, achieving new historical highs every year. Its property market is vigorous and exciting and construction in Macau has been the mainstay of business for many Hong Kong construction companies for the past few years. Macau has recently been considered the most promising destination in Asia and one of the worlds top tourism destinations by the WTO.

These investment opportunities are not devoid of challenges, and most businesses are faced with land and labour shortage. In Macau, only 5% of land is freehold, with the remaining 95% being held by the MSAR Government. There is a complex system for leasing this government-owned land and companies are subject to labour quotas. Contracts are also much shorter than the ones drafted under common law systems and a local legal opinion is therefore advisable.

As other law offices in Macau, we provide advice and legal support for a broad range of matters relating to the real estate, construction and tourism industries, including:

• legal requirements and regulatory advice on immovable property transactions;
• land development and planning, including fractional property developments, land acquisitions, hotels, resorts and casinos;
• financing for real estate, gaming, hotel and resort projects, including loan syndications and securitizations, loan structuring, due diligence reports, document preparation and registration;
• tax planning advice;
• advising on and assisting with all stages of the construction of real property;
• negotiating, drafting, redrafting, reviewing and assisting the execution of tenancy and lease agreements, hotel and resort management contracts and other contracts and documents related to the real estate, construction and tourism industries;
• advising on employment issues;
• litigation of complex disputes;