The Macau Metro Monitor. January 15th, 2010
MGM’S MACAU JOINT VENTURE MOVES CLOSER TO IPO marketwatch.com
The Macau casino joint venture between MGM Mirage Inc. and Pansy Ho has initiated a vetting process of investment banks to work on a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise up to $1 billion. Two Wall Street investment banks have sent representatives to meet with officials from MGM Grand Paradise, operator of the MGM Grand Macau, to discuss the flotation, according to local media. The group would be the last of Macau’s six main casino operators to list shares in Hong Kong.
MACAU’S HOTEL OCCUPANCY RATE DROPS TO 78.4% chinaknowledge.com
Macau has seen its hotel average occupancy rate decline by 0.8% year-over-year to 78.4% in November 2009, according to the Statistics and Census Service. The figures show that four-star hotels, which had the highest occupancy rates, had an average occupancy of 88.2%. In November, the total number of available guest rooms in local hotels rose to 19,216, a 12.9% rise compared to the same month in ’08. Mainland Chinese tourists accounted for 51.9% of the total, and tourists from Hong Kong accounted for a further 20.4%.
FIVE COMPANIES LICENSED FOR FERRY SERVICE BETWEEN MACAU AND HONG KONG macaunews.com.mo
A total of five companies have been licensed to provide ferry services in Macau for ten years, according to a statement from the Maritime Administration. TurboJET, Yuet Tung, Chu Kong, Macao Dragon and CotaiJet have all been approved for operation. A total of fourteen for ferry services between Macau, Hong Kong, and Guangdong province had been approved by the government. Macao Dragon is the only company to have never before provided ferry services in Macau. Three of the five new routes will connect the Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal in the Outer Harbor with Shun Tak Centre, China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, as well as the SkyPier at Hong Kong International Airport. The other two new routes are between Pac On and Tsim Sha Tsui as well as the SkyPier.
