Weekend Long Read: Macao Bets on Diversification — and a New Role as China’s Bridge to the World

SINGAPORE — For decades, Macao’s economic proposition was exceptionally simple: casinos, tourists and proximity to the Chinese mainland.

Sam Hou Fai, the chief executive of Macao SAR, is trying to make it considerably more complicated.

In an exclusive interview with Caixin Global during his first official visit to Southeast Asia since taking office, Sam laid out plans to build a more diversified economy around technology, finance, healthcare, education and culture — while using neighboring Hengqin island to overcome one of Macao’s most basic constraints: its tiny physical footprint.