transportation

Would-be taxi owners in Macau on Friday submitted tenders in excess of HK$1 million for each of the 150 taxi licenses on offer.

Macau's Civil and Municipal Affairs Bureau said it had received 663 tender proposals - more than four times the number of licenses available.

The starting bid was HK$200,000.

The decision to expand the taxi franchise was first mentioned by Macau's Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah in his policy address, when he said the rapidly growing tourism industry was putting increasing demands on the territory's transportation system.

HONG KONG (AP) - Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is upping the ante against Macau competitors Friday by launching a ferry service from Hong Kong to the outlying strip of reclaimed land he hopes to transform into a massive gambling and vacation resort.

Macau's current ferry terminal is located on its mainland peninsula linked to China. That's where the casinos of many of Adelson's rivals are located, including Steve Wynn's Wynn Macau and Stanley Ho's Lisboa and Grand Lisboa.