China wants to turn Macau from a casino den into a tech base for the Greater Bay Area

China is forging a new identity for Macau, the world’s largest casino den, as a regional technology hub, according to Chinese technology industry executives and officials.

As the former Portuguese colony grapples with Covid-19 and Beijing’s harsh stance on gambling, the Venetian Macao Convention and Exhibition Centre this week hosted a big technology-themed trade fair, with hundreds of mainland tech investors and executives crossing the border to discuss their visions for the city.

The event comes at a time of uncertainty about its pillar industry of gambling, as Beijing is not hiding its displeasure at the role of Macau’s casinos as illicit capital drainage channels that undermine China’s financial stability and capital account controls.

Casinos in Macau remain quiet even though it is easier for mainland Chinese to travel to the city thanks to the quarantine-free border-crossing arrangements. But for attendees of Beyond Expo, the future of Macau lies with research labs and venture capital firms, not gambling tables.

“The Guangdong-Macau in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin has created a new opportunity for technology innovation and industry transformation of Macau,” Zhang Yuzhuo, vice-chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, said in a keynote speech. Zhang was referring to an island between Macau and Zhuhai that Beijing has designated as a special area to be jointly administered by Macau and Guangdong authorities.