Lawrence Ho, the casino tycoon and son of the late Stanley Ho, has been excluded from Hong Kong's list of the top 50 richest individuals after a decade of inclusion. While he gained modest profits from the merger of Vietnamese electric vehicle maker Vinfast with its SPAC unit Black Spade, the proceeds were insufficient to offset the significant drop in the value of Ho's main asset – shares of casino giant Melco International Development, which have nearly halved in the past year.
Melco's operations are predominantly situated in Macau, the sole region in China where gambling and casinos are permitted. The industry has been grappling with the aftermath of stricter regulations on VIP tournaments, which, until four years ago, contributed to approximately half of Macau's overall gambling revenue.
