Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | August 2010 44 Briefs Regional Briefs holding company STDM is a 33.03% shareholder in the airport. With Galaxy’s new Cotai resort Galaxy Macau due to open in the first half of 2011, it could be helpful for the company to have a friendly ferry operator serving the Taipa ferry terminal which is the maritime entry point to Cotai. The incumbent operator into Taipa, CotaiJet, is a Las Vegas Sands Corp entity primarily focused on delivering passengers to The Venetian Macao on Cotai. LVS takes ferry services very seriously as part of its overall marketing strategy. In its first quarter results for 2010, the company said it had US$201.7 million of long term debt related to ferry financing. TurboJET, operated by Ho family-led shipping and property conglomerate Shun Tak Holdings, makes one trip a day to and from Taipa to Hong Kong International Airport. But TurboJET is currently mainly focused on serving Macau peninsula, where the bulk of SJM’s properties and customers are. New World First Ferry Services Ltd, owned by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd, serves Hong Kong and ports in neighbouring Guangdong, China, via Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal. Chow Tai Fook is a Hong Kong based private conglomerate with interests in property development, hotels, casinos, transportation, jewellery, port and telecommunications businesses. Its chairman Dr Cheng Yu-tung, the chairman of New World Development Co Ltd, was one of the investors behind L’Arc, the SJM-licensed casino that opened in Macau last September. Pagcor likely to honour foreign investor deals for Manila Bay The new management of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) hints it will honour agreements made by the former national government with joint venture casino partners. That’s thought to include a so-called ‘midnight deal’ done by former President Arroyo’s administration allowing Aruze Corporation title to land at an ‘Entertainment City’ by Manila Bay. The deal, in contravention of normal government policy regarding overseas investment, was brokered by former Pagcor chairman Efraim Genuino SJM makes move for Cotai Dr Stanley Ho’s Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) appears finally to be making its move for a property on Cotai, the Las Vegas Strip-style enclave to the south of the territory’s traditional gaming hub. SJM has started fencing off a piece of land near the Macau Dome, although the Macau government hasn’t yet officially assigned the land to SJM for a casino project. “We are in the process of negotiating the concession,” said Dr Ambrose So, SJM’s Chief Executive Officer. Dr So hinted the new property may be more resort-focused than other SJM casinos, but didn’t give details. Murren cagey on MGM Macau IPO There’s been no official announcement yet on the size and pricing of MGM Resorts International’s planned share offer for its Macau operation via the Hong Kong stock market. The initial public offering (IPO) is expected to take place this year, though with Asian equity markets still showing considerable volatility, MGM will hope the offer coincides with a sustained upswing. A figure of US$1billion for the IPO was mentioned in Hong Kong press reports earlier this year. Jim Murren, MGM’s chairman, wouldn’t be drawn on the details during the company’s second quarter earnings conference call. MGM Grand Paradise, the 50:50 joint venture with Pansy Ho, recently raised US$950 million in debt financing to pay off existing debt and provide additional working capital. “The [IPO] timing is not totally in our control under the Hong Kong listing rules,” Mr Murren said. He did indicate the joint venture plans to go ahead with at least one more resort in Macau. “We’reobviously very interestedandhavebeenvery committed to expanding our footprint in Macau with another property over time,” stated Mr Murren. CotaiJet competitor has Galaxy and SJM links Macao Dragon, the new ferry operator serving the southern part of Macau via Hong Kong, has business links to both Galaxy Entertainment Group and SJM. One of the people behind privately owned Macao Dragon is Ng Fok, a Macau businessman. Mr Fok is chairman of Hotel Presidente Macau, a four-star Galaxy-licensed boutique casino hotel under the City Clubs brand. Mr Fok also has long standing links to Dr Stanley Ho as an executive director of Macau International Airport. Dr Ho’s investment Macao Dragon—new ferry operator serving Taipa CityCenter continues to be a drain on MGM Resorts International Philippine President Benigno Aquino [left] swears in new Pagcor Chairman Cristino Naguiat last month