The Macau Metro Monitor, April 14th, 2010
SIX LENDERS JOIN LAS VEGAS SANDS' US$1.75BN LOAN IFR Asia
Las Vegas Sands’ US$1.75BN-equivalent loan has still not closed. Six lenders are said to have joined the general syndication of the facility. Commitments have topped US$100m so far. A handful of additional lenders are currently processing internal credit approvals, said sources.
The loan has a US$750MM Term Loan A, a US$750MM Delayed Draw Term Loan B and a US$250MM Revolving Credit Tranche C. The facility is denominated in HK Dollars, Macau Pataca and US Dollars. The portions for each currency will be determined upon closing. The facility pays a top level all-in of 499bps for commitments of US$50MM or more.
A 10-bank mandated lead arranger group (Banco Nacional Ultramarino, Bank of China (Macau), BNP Paribas, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, DBS, Goldman Sachs, OCBC, ICBC (Macau) and UBS) has fully underwritten the deal. Proceeds will fund the construction of lots 5 and 6 of the Venetian Macau.
INCOME SUBSIDY RETAINED IN 2010 Macau Daily News
Macau's Executive Council declared that permanent residents who earn less than MOP12,000 per quarter and work for a minimum of 152 hours each month may be qualified to receive a subsidy until their quarterly income reaches MOP12,000. Upon approval, subsidies will be deposited into designated accounts in May, August, November 2010 and February 2011 separately. The government expects the scheme to cost around MOP100 million this year.
The Executive Council also proposed to raise the ceiling of the credit guarantee amount provided by the SAR government for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from MOP200 million to MOP500 million. As for the SME Special Credit Guarantee Scheme, the cap will remain at MOP100 million.
MTI REVISES 2010 GROWTH FORECAST TO 7.0 TO 9.0% AsiaOne
According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Singapore economy is expected to grow 7-9% in 2010.
Manufacturing led the growth, with a 139% QoQ expansion in 1Q 2010. The robust expansion of electronics products and a surge in biomedical manufacturing output underpinned the growth. The construction sector grew by 11.3% YoY in 1Q 2010, supported by sustained public sector civil engineering activities and an increase in the number of residential construction projects.
The services producing industries also expanded, registering a YoY growth of 8.4% in 1Q 2010. This was largely due to wholesale trade, which improved on the back of sharp increases in exports of electronic goods. Growth in transport and storage, hotels and restaurants as well as financial and business services also contributed to its improved performance.
The overall CPI inflation forecast for 2010 is revised from 2.0%-3.0% to 2.5-3.5% in view of the strong economic recovery.
