Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | March 2011 44 Briefs Regional Briefs Ho family apparently reaches settlement in share battle A statement released on 10th March indicated the feuding parties in the soap opera-like Stanley Ho casino empire succession saga had managed to broker a truce following months of both highly-public and behind-the-scenes feuding. “All members of the Ho family have reached full and final agreement based on the principle of `mutual understanding and mutual accommodation’,” the statement, signed by Stanley Ho on behalf of “all members of the Ho family” said. The second lawsuit filed by Dr Ho’s lawyer Gordon Oldham on 16th February naming daughters Pansy Ho and Daisy Ho was withdrawn on 21st February, according to the statement, which was distributed to the media by Dr Ho’s long-time press secretary at Shun Tak Holdings, Janet Wong. According to a report in the South China Morning Post , the suit had demanded the two daughters undo the December share transfer that saw 89-year-old Dr Ho lose control of Lanceford, a private holding company that ultimately controls his stake in casino operator SJM Holdings as well as a swathe of private investments stretching from Vietnam to Portugal. The suit also named Lanceford as a defendant alongside the two British Virgin Islands firms that now control Lanceford—Action Winner, controlled by Dr Ho’s third wife, Ina Chan, and Ranillo Investments, controlled by Pansy, Daisy, Maisy, Josie and Lawrence, Dr Ho’s children with his second wife, Lucina Laam. The suit had not gone to court and members of Dr Ho’s four families, which include 16 surviving children and three surviving wives, now appear to have settled matters behind closed doors. “A deed of settlement was executed on March 8 between all branches of theHo family.Wehave agreed thatwe shall work together and continue to develop the gambling business in Macau founded by Dr Ho and operated by the Ho family to enable it to flourish,” the statement said. “All the Ho family members shall work together and discharge our duties to further the development of the business of [private Macau holding company] STDM and SJM Holdings with a view to achieving greater contribution to the prosperity and stability of Macau, Hong Kong and China.” Stanley Ho’s fourthwife, Angela Leong, managing director of SJM, refused to disclose details of the truce, only saying that everyone was happy about the deal. She said the four families would have a “balanced participation” in STDM and SJM, adding that the agreement would not alter the structure of SJM’s board. “Dr Ho’s shares were distributed among our four families, but it’s not appropriate for me to disclose the proportions ... it was a mutual understanding and accommodation to make the agreement possible,” she said. “The most important is that the structure of the SJM’s board of directors and the developmental direction will not be affected.” Dr Ho’s lawyer, Mr Oldham, said last night it was a “settlement between the four parties and Dr Ho to resolve their differences and for each to go their own way”. Mr Oldham declined to provide details, but said it was “mission accomplished”. A spokesman for Brunswick, the public relations agency of Lanceford and its new shareholders, confirmed that the statement was genuine but declined to comment further. Crown loses high rollers to Singapore Australian casino operator Crown said it had lost some of its VIP business to the new casinos in Singapore. Still, Crown, which owns the Crown casino in Melbourne and the Burswood casino in Perth, reported a 32.9% year-on-year increase in profit in the first half of the Australian financial year (July to December 2010) to A$153.14 million (the Australian dollar is currently near parity to the US dollar) on a ‘‘solid’’ performance from its Australian non-VIP businesses and non- gaming operations. The Australian Associated Press reported Crown’s normalised net profit, which takes into account variations in the VIP gaming win rate and pre-opening costs in respect of the jointly owned City of Dreams casino-resort in Macau, was 13.9% higher at A$165.8 million. VIP gaming revenue fell 8% to A$290.8 million due to the effect of the opening of two new casino-resorts in Singapore. Crown chief executive Rowen Craigie told reporters that the VIP market was growing strongly, evidenced by the uplift of the VIP market in Macau. “The Singapore casinos are going gangbusters—they’re probably the two most profitable casinos in the world at the moment,” Mr Craigie said.“So, the market is there. The challenge for us is to replace the business we’ve lost to Singapore with new business out of China but also new business out of South-East Asia. “What Macau has proved and what Singapore will also prove is that additions to the supply of quality-integrated resorts triggers the demand.” Mr Craigie said facility upgrades in progress at Crown and Burswood would help boost Crown’s share of VIP numbers. The casinos operated by Crown also had to concentrate on providing quality service, and Crown had to ensure that it had the right sales teams in place in key markets to convince rich gamblers to come to Australia. Mission accomplished?—Gary Oldham Crown’s Burswood Entertainment Complex in Perth