From the Publisher:

In Business Las Vegas, June 15th, 2007

We receive a lot of newsletters and magazines in the mail here every week, which is perhaps a fitting payback for the thousands that we send out.

Virtually every day's mail drop fills my in-basket with business weeklies from all over the U.S. , newsletters from every walk of life, industry and organization, magazines reflecting every interest and purpose. It's a heap. But still, when I take the time to page through them, I almost always learn something.

In recent months, and as a result of meeting Publisher Paulo A. Azevedo , I started getting a new glossy monthly magazine, Macau Business. It is mailed to us from the island of the same name, a place of interest these days to many Southern Nevada companies.

And what a place it is. Once a quaint coastal fishing village, Macau still has a number of historic touches, but is now of course better known for its casinos, nightlife, restaurants, modern architecture — and booming growth. Macau gaming revenue reached $7 billion in 2006.

For its part, Macau Business is only 3 years old but has established a reputation for aggressive news coverage. Some topics may sound familiar; others certainly will not.

In April, the magazine reported that Macau 's rapidly expanding gaming sector is succeeding at the expense of other parts of the economy, as a labor crunch draws staff from public services like teaching and health care into much higher-paying casino jobs.

"There is a structural nightmare awaiting Macau in three to five years unless something is done about the labor situation," a human resources specialist was quoted as saying. With a workforce of 250,000 and projections for up to 100,000 more gaming-related jobs over the next 10 years, competition for staff has created a cutthroat labor market. "Staff retention is a huge problem in Macau ," the HR source said.

As a result of the labor shortage, casino owners are calling for a relaxation of immigration laws to allow thousands of overseas workers into Macau . Immigration is a hot topic in Macau , as it is here.

In fact, the May issue reported on a riot resulting from what was intended to be a peaceful demonstration against companies believed to employ illegal immigrants. Police ended up firing gunshots into the air at this event; though that still did not disperse the crowd, one elderly man got hit by a stray bullet, infuriating many locals.

The same issue also had a lengthy news package on crime that indicated counterfeit currency cases in 2006 had increased more than 50 percent in a single year, and that the number will grow further because the quality of counterfeit currency is improving.

Another reason is the huge flood of cash into Macau and surrounding areas. One story about an auto show indicated that Chinese sales of Rolls-Royce vehicles grew by more than 60 percent last year. Another story reported that Macau is healthy enough financially these days that one of own its local development companies has begun investing large amounts of money in Portugal , Macau 's former ruler.

Land prices are at a premium in Macau , with rents and housing costs having skyrocketed in the past few years, Although the average price of residential units grew only 6 percent in 2006, they were already inflated. The real news, as the magazine reported, was the 44 percent year-over-year increase in the cost of office space, where construction has not kept up with demand.

Today, the June issue arrived. One article summarized a recent report comparing Macau banks against those in Southern Nevada . In 2005, Macau 's banks had a net interest margin of 1.2 percent, as compared against a 6 percent figure for Las Vegas banks. The article reported that this was a reflection of "severe competition, particularly in the mortgage market, a relatively low interest-rate environment and the low yield of money market funds in a highly liquid market."

There was an interview with Nani Beccalli-Falco, General Electric's International president . He told the magazine that Macau will one day beat Las Vegas as the world's top gaming destination. Knowledgeable observers see this as a safe bet.

Some 90 percent of Macau residents speak Cantonese as their primary language. Macau Business was one of the first English-language publications. Others, including a daily newspaper, are multiplying now.

If you want to keep up with business events in Macau , simply go to www.macaubusiness.com. You can subscribe there. Or read it online, especially if the in-box on your desk is as full of publications as mine is.