Matt Bekir (Matt Bekier), the boss of (Star Entertainment Group), the star entertainment group, warned that strained political relations between Australia and China could have an impact on inbound Chinese tourists in the short term.
Australia's business community has previously issued a similar warning that if Australia's government does not do more to improve relations with China, it may have adverse consequences.
In an interview with the Australian newspaper recently, Cheng Jingye, Chinese Ambassador to Australia, said that relations between the two countries had been undermined by "systematic, irresponsible negative remarks," and warned that if this situation was not fixed, Trade relations may be damaged.
Australian companies have also warned that the government should note that they are operating in a global competitive environment, and that if Canberra retires from second place in its relationship with China, other countries will fill the gap.
Mr. Bekir, chief executive of The Star, said he was worried about tensions between Australia and China, as the number of Chinese tourists could be affected, and Chinese tourists have been growing rapidly.
"Unfortunately, there may be temporary fluctuations in the number of Chinese tourists in the short term," he said during Bloomberg's investment in Australia's (Bloomberg Invest Australia) conference.
"the current political environment and discussions are of no help."
"but our investment is long-term, so whatever the short-term volatility, the fundamentals of China's outbound tourism will continue to improve."
The Star and China's joint venture partner Chow Tai Fook and far East Development Co., Ltd. have recently expanded their strategic partnership to seek future development in Australia.
Under a new agreement signed at the end of March, the two Hong Kong companies will own 10 percent of the casino operator. They will also apply to Australian regulators for an additional 10 percent stake, which means they may become the largest shareholders in The Star.
"I can be sure they want to raise their shares because with only 10 percent of the shares, they have no voice on the board, this is dead money, and they can't participate," Bekir said.
"if they hold 20 percent, they will be the largest shareholders and may have more control over their investments, so I think they will increase their holdings further."
However, he stressed that the new strategic agreement includes restrictions on the placing of shares, which means that the The Star board can limit the influence exerted by Chinese partners, even if they increase their stake to 20 percent.
He also said he was not worried about rival Crown (Crown Resorts) opening a casino in Sydney.
Pike's Crown Casino, owned by (James Packer), is set to open in 2021, later than planned, with a $2 billion investment in the resort.
"the crown passed the approval in 2012, so we prepared ahead of time," Bekir said.
"We are working very hard to improve customer service, loyalty programs and casino image to ensure that we are in the best shape."
Bekir said, The Star is already competitive in the international VIP business and is now Australia's largest VIP operator. Sydney's casino is the largest, he said, and now its Gold Coast casino is the third-largest destination for VIP gamblers.
"our market share has been growing steadily over the past five years," he said. "the only place where new competition will emerge is the local gaming table, which will be a battlefield."
Bekir said he was not worried about competition because half of The Star's business is slot machine, Australia's most competitive market.