Bunnies hop into Macau

OK. It's a bit of a stretch to suggest that Christie Hefner's decision to locate a Playboy Mansion in Macau's new Studio City development will make a serious difference to the business media world. It does, though, indicate the weight of international corporate interest in the entertainment and events world lining up behind the new, Vegas-inspired vision of Macau.

The Destination Macau piece quotes Christie as saying ""Judge me by the company I keep. Macao Studio City brings together many talented people and elements. This is a collaboration among the top hotel companies, top entertainment, top retail and top real estate. We all bring together what we see as the vision of the future Maacu – beyond just casinos".

That captures the two key points of what is happening there now:

1. Multiple international brands investing in one small place = fireworks for the events industry.
2. It's "beyond just casinos".

That's certainly what those who are actively promoting Macau events hope. I note, for example, that Macau featured in United Business Media's pre-close statement yesterday. Investment in new markets such as Macau was quoted as one of the reasons we should look out for slightly disappointing profits from CMP Asia, it said. "CMP Asia is investing to expand its presence in India, Macau, mainland China and in building an online presence to complement its event portfolio. These necessary costs are a drag on short term earnings".