Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JUL 2019年7月 亞博匯 32 Muhammad Cohen: What prompted the Crown deal? Lawrence Ho: We didn’t even start talking about this thing until a few weeks ago, after the news about Wynn’s proposed acquisition came out. Because, at the end of the day, even though my partnership with James ended a couple of years ago, I have the utmost respect for him. We’re friends and we kept in contact. When theWynn thing came about, that’swhen I called him and said, “Hey, what’s your real intention? If you are really interested to divest, you have really great assets. The two organizations share similar philosophies.” That was when the transaction really started. MC: Does buying into Crown financially constrain Melco for other projects, such as Studio City phase two and a Japan IR? LH: No, absolutely not. We certainly have enough firepower for Japan. And don’t forget [in] Japan, even the bidding is probably a year away and by the time anything gets built, it is going to be two or three years. When we compare Melco’s balance sheet with our competitors, our coverage and our leverage ratio are much lower than most of the US competitors. MC: Will passing Australian probity checks help for Japan? LH: Australia is known as the strictest probity center in the world, stricter than Nevada, and getting through the probity in Australia is another vote of confidence for us. Also, where Crown built their property in Melbourne used to be a very terrible part of the city. Japan is very focused on urban revitalization of certain areas, especially with IRs. From the regulatory probity review side, it is a huge plus. From the urban renewal side, Crown is a great case study and I heard a lot of Japanese bureaucrats talk about it as well. Australia is also a country that has a high propensity to gamble, so at the same time, they have some of the best social responsibility programs. That’s another thing that Japan really cares about, social safeguards and how to prevent and fight gaming addiction. MC: Was there any discussion with Beijing about the acquisition, given the arrests of Crown personnel in China three years ago? LH: Well, I have regular dialogue and I’ve had my courtesy talk, and Beijing and Macau were supportive. At the same time, they understand that as a company that’s listed in the US, we’re obligated to do our own thing. But even the couple of quiet talks we had were supportive. Muhammad Cohen:是何原因促成了此次交易？ 何猷龍： 其實直到幾週前，在永利提出收購的消息傳出之後，我們 才開始討論此事。說到底，儘管我和James的合作關係數年前就結 束了，但是我對他一直十分敬重。我們是朋友，一直保持聯繫。 當永利事件爆出的時候，我打給他說，「你的真正考量是甚 麼？如果你真的有意撤資，你的資產還是很好的。我們兩家有著相 似的理念。」 那就是交易過程真正開始的那一刻。 MC:新濠國際為收購皇冠而動用的資金會否對其在諸如新濠影匯 第二期，或者競投日本IR等其他項目上的投資構成限制？ 何猷龍： 當然不會。我們有足夠的彈藥去支持日本那邊的項目。而 且別忘了，在日本，即使競標也可能是一年之後的事了。到任何東 西建成時，都還需要兩三年。如果我們把新濠的資產負債表與競 爭對手作比較，會發現我們的覆蓋率和槓桿率遠低於大部分美國 的競爭對手。 MC:如果通過澳洲的誠信審查，會對在日本競標牌照有幫助嗎？ 何猷龍： 澳洲被稱為世界上最嚴格的誠信審查中心，比內華達州 還嚴格。能夠通過澳大利亞的誠信審查對我們而言是又一次的信 任投票。此外，皇冠在墨爾本建造物業的地段在過去其實相當糟 糕。日本非常注重某些地區的舊區活化，尤其是在考量綜合度假 村方面。 從監管誠信審查方面來看，這是一個很大的加分。從舊區活 化方面來看，皇冠做了一個很好的案例。我也曾聽到許多日本官 員會討論它。 澳洲也是一個賭博傾向很高的國家。但他們同時也有著一些 很好的社會責任項目。這是另外一件日本真正關心的事情，即社 會保障和如何打擊及預防博彩成癮。 MC:三年前，曾有皇冠員工曾中國被捕，您此次收購是否有與北京 方面溝通？ 何猷龍： 嗯，我們有定期對話，我也有自己的禮節性談話。北京和 澳門表示支持。同時，他們也清楚，作為一家在美國上市的公司， 我們有義務做自己的事情。但在之前我們之間幾次私下談話中， 他們都是表示支持。 COVER STORY