The Macau Metro Monitor, December 10th, 2010

 

VICE SQUAD RAIDS CASINO HOURS AFTER OWNER ADELSON FLIES IN SCMP

According to Macau police, a total of 110 mainland women believed to be prostitutes and 22 other people thought to be controlling them were detained at the Venetian.  A Sands spokeswoman said the Venetian had a policy outlawing sex workers on the premises.  She said  "His [Adelson's] arrival is not connected with any of the current issues happening. It's a regular board meeting that was scheduled."

A Macau insider said such raids on the city's casinos were not uncommon but were usually right before "sensitive" occasions such as the visits of state officials to the city.  "A police operation was carried out before the arrival of Premier Wen Jiabao last month and other casinos have been the subject of similar action. But everyone in Macau knows what sort of attention an action like this at the Venetian will attract," the insider said.

DIM-SUM JUNK BONDS LURE GALAXY YIELDING LESS THAN WYNN, MGM: CHINA CREDIT Bloomberg

Galaxy sold $1.38BN yuan of three-year notes yielding 4.625%--58 basis points less than similar- maturity investment-grade bonds in Shanghai.  The bond yield was also lower than that of MGM's 2016 notes (10.05%) and WYNN's 2020 first-mortgage notes (6.39%).  According to S&P, the bonds were the first speculative-grade corporate debt offered in Hong Kong’s yuan market.  A person familiar with the deal said Galaxy's sale attracted 14 billion yuan of orders.  Galaxy said it will use money from the bonds for non-gambling businesses and general corporate use.

MACAU GOVERNMENT TOOK MOP250 MILLION IN TAXES ON JUNKET COMMISSIONS IN 2009 macaubusiness.com

The government pocketed MOP250 million (US$31 million) in taxes on commissions paid by casinos to junket promoters last year, 4.4% more than in 2008.  A final withholding tax of 5 percent is levied on commissions paid by gaming operators to junket promoters.  The amount of tax collected last year implies that casino operators paid MOP5 billion in commissions.

CHINA RAISES BANKS' RESERVE RATIOS AGAIN Reuters

On Dec20, Required Reserve Ratios will increase by 50 basis points to 18.5%, a record high for the majority of the China's banks.


CHINA'S NOVEMBER PROPERTY PRICES RISE AT SLOWEST PACE IN A YEAR ON CURBS Bloomberg

In November, China's home prices in 70 cities climbed 7.7% YoY and increased 0.3% MoM.

BUDGET CARRIER TIGER AIRWAYS CARRIES 464,000 PASSENGERS IN NOV Channel News Asia

Singapore-listed budget carrier Tiger Airways said it carried 464,000 passengers in November, up 10% YoY.  However, the load factor edged down by one % point to 86% in the same period.