An empty, rusty Coca-Cola can lies on the edge of rows of dusty seats. It was likely left by the last moviegoer nearly two decades ago when cleaners rushed to leave upon the closure of a cinema located on the top floor of the Capitol Theatre, a now-derelict commercial complex in downtown Macau.
Time in the 380-seat auditorium seems to stand still. While the electricity and water have long been disconnected, cassettes, videotapes, and video equipment from the last century can still be found in the projector room. A white board in the cinema still marks the programme of the last day with the final session starting at 9:30pm on 31 August 1997.
“Capitol Theatre represents the collective memory of our generation born in the 60’s,” says local property investor and developer William Kuan Vai Lam. “It’s a precious memory that I want to rejuvenate this place – the entire property – and turn it into a venue reflecting the local culture.”
Thus, Mr. Kuan, a veteran shopping mall investor, is betting millions to refurbish the cinema as a first step in pushing forward the makeover of the entire five storey cinema-cum-commercial complex, currently stalled by other stakeholders.
Despite the closure of the cinema founded in 1931, other parts of the property – 103 stores on the first three floors and a basement video game arcade – remained in operation for years after 1997. But Capitol Theatre has gradually slipped into dilapidation in recent times due to poor property management: most of the stores have been vacated except for a few merchants and food vendors on the ground floor whilst the game arcade has ceased operation.
Despite dim lighting on the ground floor, darkness pervades the complex given the absence of electricity in the common area and the empty stores. Used utensils, cardboard, corroded trolleys . . . these are remnants left behind by the previous tenants of the upper floors. Almost no visitors venture beyond the ground floor and the only signs of life left on the upper floors – as some remaining vendors say – are nests of mice that become active when the
sun sets.
“The environment is simply messy and unhygienic,” said Mr. Kuan in a January interview held on the property, panting whilst climbing the defunct escalators.
Renovation stalled
Starting to acquire some stores at Capitol Theatre in 2012, the property investor and his company, Pak Man Hong Kuok Wa Development Ltd., now own more than half of the premises; namely, some 20 stores and the cinema. With the objective of revamping the theatre, the businessman has formed a new property management committee to lay down the blueprint.
According to a plan drafted in 2015, the committee hoped to splash more than MOP20 million (US$2.5 million) on refurbishing the property, including the facilities in the common area. Converting Capitol Theatre into a major venue for local cultural creative businesses and young entrepreneurs, the renovation was due to be completed by the end of last year.
But the work never started. “More than 95 per cent of the owners
[of the theatre] agreed to proceed with the plan more than two years ago, except for one or two owners on the ground floor,” said Mr. Kuan. “We all agreed we had to be responsible for part of the renovation costs in accordance with our share of ownership but no-one has yet made any commitment.”
He admitted some storeowners had complained that the charge of renovation – now budgeted at MOP25 million – was expensive. “It’s only an estimate and the final cost will only be known once we choose a contractor by public tender,” the businessman said. “I don’t mind paying in advance for some minor works of up to MOP1 million but it’s impossible for [the works of] MOP20 million or MOP30 million.”
Nostalgia
Facing with the stalled plan of the entire property, Mr. Kuan has decided refurbish the cinema on the top floor, which he fully controls. The businessman is ready to splurge about MOP3 million on improving the environment of the 380-seat auditorium and updating the equipment.
“As the [90s] video equipment is still preserved in the projection room we’ve been in talks with some associations to host movie sessions for vintage films in the future, as well as sessions of short movies produced by local youngsters once we’ve gradually updated the equipment,” he said. The revamp of the cinema, taking about three months, is expected to start in February.
“We’re pushing forward the revamp plan step by step: we hope the re-opening of the cinema can drive foot traffic to Capitol Theatre so that the other owners are inspired to invest in the renovation of the entire property,” he declared.
Another reason preventing the storeowners from commitment to the renovation plan is the ongoing legal dispute between the new management committee and four vendors on the ground floor.
The new committee, led by Mr. Kuan and his company, has sued the four vendors for “illegal occupation” of the common area of the theatre, while the four vendors claim they have been allowed to use the space to run their businesses since 1998 by paying monthly rentals to the former property management company. A large red banner hangs outside a food vendor on the ground floor, claiming it is subject to ‘forced eviction’ by the new management committee.
Three of the four vendors were not immediately available for comment for this story whilst one declined to comment. Mr. Kuan said they were still seeking legal advice on the case and awaiting a court ruling.
Mall woes
Asked whether his company will buy out the remaining stakes of the property to press ahead with the plan, Mr. Kuan seems determined he will not replicate the model of Sun Star City Shopping Mall, just 10 feet away from Capitol Theatre, on Rua de Pedro Nolasco da Silva. His other company forked out over MOP200 million in 2009 to buy full control of Sun Star City for renovation and management.
“All the acquisitions have to be done at market price: it doesn’t make sense to pay MOP10 for something that is only worth MOP1,” he stressed. “For example, the bank has estimated the value of some shops at MOP2 million but some owners ask for MOP3 million, then MOP4 million and so forth.” The size of stores at Capitol Theatre usually ranges from 100 square feet to 200 square feet.
Kuan also disclosed that the owners of the underground video game arcade have asked for over MOP100 million for acquisition, an offer that has been turned down by his company.
In spite of the annual visitation of over 30 million travellers to the city and retail sales amounting to more than MOP50 billion a year, economists and businessmen say the business of small shopping malls located outside the gaming resorts is gloomy. However, Mr. Kuan – a veteran investor who controls small shopping malls like Sun Star City and Pereira Plaza in the Horta e Costa region – is more optimistic about market prospects.
An amicable environment, a proper property management, and a unique selling point serve as keys to driving traffic, he believes. “Why do visitors steer away from [Capitol Theatre] now? It’s because there’s nothing to see and the environment is chaotic.”
“With a cinema for local short movies and vintage films, I’m confident [Capitol Theatre] could entice visitors from around the world and local residents,” he concludes.
Capitol Theatre
April 1931 – The theatre is founded by a local businessman surnamed Wong with about 1,000 seats, riding on the popularity of watching movies at the time. Its style of architecture and interior décor reflect a stylish trend seen in the cinemas of Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong Province in the 1920’s
July 1987 – Business has started to deteriorate and it ceases operation on 31 July 1987, after being sold to a new owner
February 1991 – The new owner spends over MOP30 million (US$3.75 million) on redeveloping the property, turning the cinema into the commercial-cum-cinema complex seen today. The new property, maintaining the façade of the old premises, opens its doors in February 1991
August 1997 – The business of the cinema on the top floor remains brisk, following the re-opening. Focusing on Chinese movies and films with sexual content, the cinema closes again on 31 August 1997. The 102 stores in the complex remain open
Post-1997 – The theatre has gradually slid into dilapidation due to poor property management. Only food vendors and merchants on the ground floor remain open
Pos-2012 – Property developer William Kuan Vai Lam starts to acquire some ownership of the complex, with the objective of rejuvenating the property
2015 – A new property management committee, including Mr. Kuan’s company, is formed. It announces a plan to turn the property into a shopping mall-and-cinema with a focus on the local cultural creative industry and young entrepreneurs. The new committee is involved in a legal dispute with four vendors on the ground floor
Today – The revamp plan is stalled by the inaction of other shopowners whilst Mr. Kuan decides to push ahead with the renovation of the cinema first
Sources: Macau Data, Macau Daily News and William Kuan
To run or not to run . . . with Angela Leong
Following two failed attempts at running for the Legislative Assembly, property developer and businessman William Kuan Vai Lam might partner gaming executive and incumbent legislator Angela Leong On Kei in the upcoming elections.
Several sources say both Ms. Leong, Executive Director of gaming operator SJM Holdings Ltd., and Mr. Kuan are mulling the possibility of running on the same ticket to vie for two of 14 directly elected seats in the September election.
Asked about the upcoming legislative contest, he neither confirmed nor denied whether he would run with Ms. Leong, the fourth wife of Macau gaming magnate Stanley Ho Hung Sun, saying: “There are many factors to be considered about the election.”
But he did reveal that he is very likely to run again for the legislature. “It is my honour to serve society and I have been very proactive in the work of promoting the local cultural creative sector and young entrepreneurs in recent years,” he declared.
Ms. Leong, who has been a legislator since 2005, was not immediately available for comment. The gaming executive has yet to make any announcement of her candidacy although she is expected to seek re-election.
Despite her individual success, her camp has failed to take a second seat in the past three Legislative Assembly elections. The Number 2 candidate, Wong Seng Hong, on Ms. Leong’s list, lost the last seat of the Assembly to Leong Veng Chai by 15 votes in the 2013 election, in which over 151,800 residents voted.
Mr. Kuan ran in the 2009 election as Number 2 candidate on the list of Lai Cho Wai – brother of triad leader and junket operator Lai Tong Sang – and led a ticket to join the 2013 election. The property investor has denied he has links with local junkets although he is the chairman of the Macau Responsible Gaming Association.
From real estate to sport
An acclaimed figure in the local property industry, local businessman William Kuan Vai Lam has been well known in the local and international communities in recent years due to his business partner Ng Lap Seng.
Mr. Kuan is an executive with local real estate developer Sun Kian Yip Group, which is headed by Mr. Ng, who was arrested in the United States in 2015 regarding a corruption scandal involving the late John Ashe, former United Nations General Assembly president. Pleading not guilty to charges of bribery and money laundering, Mr. Ng, a prominent Macau businessman, is now being held in the U.S. awaiting trial in May.
The Sun Kian Yip Group has been involved in many Macau, Mainland China, and overseas projects, such as Windsor Arch, a luxury residential project near Macau Jockey Club in Taipa.
Besides his real estate investments, Kuan is also popular in the sports world. An accredited squash coach, he engages in many local sports organisations and boards, serving as a member of the government-appointed Macau Sports Committee and president of the Macau Squash Association. One of his companies sponsors a football team in the local major league.
In recent years he has also tried to extend his influences beyond the real estate and sports sectors, with his companies setting up several programmes and activities to support the development of the cultural creative industry and nurture young entrepreneurs.
His company Companhia do Centro Cultural de Ching Peng Lda has engaged in the renovation works and management of Cheng Peng Theatre, one of the oldest theatres for Cantonese Opera existing in the world.
Providing room for local youngsters for cultural creative and film productions, the theatre – located at Rua da Felicidade – is expected to partly open by mid-2017, having closed in 1992. The opening dates of other parts of the theatre, namely a Cantonese Opera museum, depend on the progress of the envisaged MOP30 million revamp, says Kuan.
