Grand Lisboa Palace opening pushed back to Q3

SJM Holdings had hoped to open Grand Lisboa Palace in May or June, but the opening looks likely to be delayed to the third quarter of this year.

Macau.- It seems the opening date for Grand Lisboa Palace will be delayed again. Morgan Stanley has reported that approval of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) Occupancy Permit (OP) could take between four and eight weeks.

Last week MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said SJM Holdings Ltd was close to opening Grand Lisboa Palace.

The company plans to open just one of its three hotels initially, with limited retail options. It will also open with 260 mass tables while the remaining 44 VIP tables will be launched in 2022, after the opening of the Versace-branded hotel. 

Grand Lisboa Palace involved an investment of HKD39bn (US$5bn). When complete, it will have around 2,000 hotel rooms split between three venues: The Lisboa Palace Hotel, Palazzo Versace Macau, and Karl Lagerfeld Hotel luxury boutique hotel.

It includes 27,000 square metres of gaming floor space (290,000 sq ft) for up to 700 gaming tables and 1,200 electronic gaming machines.

The Cotai integrated resort was originally due to open in 2017 but has faced multiple delays over the years.

In May, SJM Holdings Ltd announced it had raised nearly HK$1.24bn (US$160m) and MOP298m (US$12.3m) after the issuance of senior notes due 2026. It said net proceeds from the offering of the senior notes reach nearly HK$1.24bn (US$160m) and MOP298m (US$12.3m). 

The company announced it would use approximately 90 per cent of the net proceeds from the proposed offering for refinancing syndicated credit facilities.