United States consul general for Macau and Hong Kong Stephen Young says there is a need for more “understandable and transparent rules” on imported labour in Macau.

Talking to reporters in Macau earlier today, Mr Young stressed that not only American investors in the territory, but all the business community “would like to have a little bit more flexibility” in importing labour.

He said that this issue is an on-going conversation between the US diplomats and the Macau government.

“A flexible labour policy would be essential” for economic diversification, which in turn would benefit Macau and its population, Mr Young said.

Nevertheless, the diplomat stressed the good working relationship with the Macau government. “We have worked very closely on law enforcement,” he noted, referring to issues like narcotics, human trafficking and money laundering, areas in which reports from the US State Department have listed Macau as a jurisdiction of concern.

Mr Young downplayed concerns of Macau as a money-laundering centre, noting that it is a problem connected with the fast growth of the gaming industry over the last years.

“It is not that gaming is bad; it just brings some issues you have to follow up,” he said.

Mr Young, who stressed he was not a gambler, said he would not comment on the court cases both in the United States and in Macau regarding former Sands China chief executive Steve Jacobs and his former employer.

According to the diplomat, it would be “inappropriate” to comment on a legal process.

In the lawsuit filed in a Nevada court, Mr Jacobs alleges he was wrongfully fired. In the court filings, he accused Sands China and its parent company Las Vegas Sands of using improper leverage against Macau government officials.

Mr Young also refused to comment on a series of cables obtained from Wikileaks by Reuters quoting US diplomats who express Washington’s concern about the VIP segment of the Macau casino industry and its connection with the mainland’s underground.

However, he admitted that, one year after being appointed US consul general for Macau and Hong Kong, he is “still puzzled” about how the junket business in Macau really works, namely how the money flows from the mainland to Macau and vice-versa and how gaming debts are collected by junkets across the border.

Talking about the pro-democracy movement in Macau, Mr Young said “it seems a little less lively than in Hong Kong … This place has been more quiet on that issue.”

According to Mr Young, there are roughly 4,000 US citizens currently living in Macau. However, he says that the United States has no plan whatsoever to open a Macau consulate.

Mr Young will meet later today with representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce in Macau, the head of the liaison office of the central government in Macau and with chief executive Fernando Chui Sai On.