China names Chui as next leader of Macau

The widely expected decision was made after a Cabinet meeting led by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao this morning. Chui is currently in Beijing for a visit where he will meet with senior Chinese officials and receive his appointment letter.

“Chui's tenure will last for five years starting December 20,” Xinhua reported.

Chui, 52, a low-key former Macau official, was the sole candidate in a leadership race to decide the former Portuguese colony's chief, and was overwhelmingly backed by a 300-member election committee in Macau on July 26.

Macau's half million citizens have no direct say on who their next leader will be.

Chui's appointment comes at a difficult time for Macau with its gaming sector hard hit by the downturn. He has pledged to steer a more sustainable growth path by diversifying Macau's overwhelming reliance on gaming revenues and to build a more transparent and accountable government.

This will be the first leadership change for Macau since it reverted to Chinese rule in 1999, with incumbent chief executive Edmund Ho having served a maximum two five-year terms since then.

Revenues from Macau's US$15 billion gaming industry overtook those of Las Vegas in 2006, thanks to the liberalization of the casino sector.

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