LAS VEGAS SANDS SHARE OFFER SET FOR NOVEMBER scmp.com
Las Vegas Sands will launch the initial public offering of its Macau business late next month. The company is seeking to raise up to US$2.5 billion in the offering. The SCMP cites “sources familiar with Sands’ plan” as saying that the operator expects to complete the offering in about four weeks after receiving regulatory approval for a share offering and listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Once regulatory approval is obtained, LVS’ bankers can begin to market the share sale to potential investors. The bankers believe that Wynn’s recent IPO success in Hong Kong has presented “a good platform for the listing”, according to sources cited by the SCMP. The IPO comes after the restructuring of US$3.3 billion in Macau-specific debt in exchange for higher interest payments and the raising of US$600 million in pre-flotation bond sales that could convert into shares in the Macau unit following a stock market listing in Hong Kong.
MACAU’S HO IN LAST-DITCH BID TO REIN IN CASINO FIRMS scmp.com
Edmund Ho Hau-wah seems to be making a final push to act on previous pledges to control development in Macau’s gaming market. Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak-yuen said on Monday that the administration of the outgoing chief executive is planning to review the number of table games in operation. In addition, it plans to raise the age limit for players and dealers to 21 from 18 and relocate machine parlors away from residential areas.
All of these measures have been previously announced by the current administration but none has been carried out. It seems that much of the renewed interest is due to “prodding from Beijing” to do something to rein in growth before the new government comes in. Given that the current administration only has two months left in office, there is little time to bring measures before the new legislature which will be sitting its first session on Friday.
PACKAGE TOURS AND HOTEL OCCUPANCY RATE FOR AUGUST 2009 dsec.gov.mo
Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours increased in August by 3.7% y-o-y, putting an end to continuous y-o-y decline for the past three months. The average hotel occupancy rate in Macau rose to 80.4%, or by 3.7% compared to the same period in 2008. August saw a total of 631,454 guests check into hotels and guest houses in Macau, up by 15% y-o-y, with the majority coming from Mainland China (47.6% of total) and Hong Kong (27.9%).
