Viva Macau - Viva Macau Appeal

Viva Macau Appeal

In April 2010 Viva commenced an administrative appeal in Macau's courts against the revocation of its license by the Macau government. The appeal was initially rejected by the Macau courts, claiming no involvement by the government. Members of US Congress and US State Department called attention to the case, noting that it involved the expropriation of the US investors in Viva Macau. In February 2011, the Macau supreme court overturned earlier rejections, allowing the administrative appeal to proceed and requiring public hearings for the Viva Macau case. According to the Macau court registry website the Viva Macau hearings were scheduled for May/June 2012.

The Viva Macau case comes at a time of increasing questions about rule of law in Macau. In October 2011, the chairman of the local supreme court publicly criticized the Macau government, citing poor decision making in many administrative procedures “resulting from lack of knowledge about the laws and regulations.” The head of the Macau Legal Association cited concerns about bias in the Macau courts in favor of the local government in administrative appeal cases. And, the US Consul General for Hong Kong and Macau publicly highlighted the need for an equitable environment for US businesses, with a transparent rule of law guaranteeing investor rights.

Hearings began on May 31, 2012, focusing the actions of Macau's Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Lau Si Io, who acted with disregard for established official procedures. Viva Macau’s former director of engineering, Yok Cheow Lee, is quoted as saying that in his 40 years in the aviation industry he had not “come across any airline being terminated suddenly without a warning and a period of time to justify .” Air Macau stated during the first hearing that it had to terminate the sub concession contract due to government pressure.

Meanwhile, Macau’s aviation sector continues to lag after the termination of Viva Macau. In November 2011 Air Macau received an additional US$90 million injection from the Macau government; instead of expanding routes it purchased a fleet of Mercedes Benz limousines. Due to a lack of operating airlines at Macau Airport, the government was forced to bail out the Macau Airport with a US$240 million injection in spring 2012.