SJM denies interest in developing casino in Vietnam
SJM Holdings has denied being involved in a process to develop a US$6bn integrated resort in Quy Nhon city, Vietnam.
Macau.- SJM Holdings has been the victim of fake news it seems as Vietnamese media claims the company has shown interest in gaining approval to develop a casino complex in Quy Nhon city.
Jonathan Pyne, chief legal counsel at SJM Holdings, has denied the rumours, saying the company is not involved in any casino project in Vietnam and that its sole casino operations are in Macau.
According to some websites, SJM Holdings was seeking to develop a US$6bn resort and casino complex project in Quy Nhon city.
SJM Holdings hopes to open Grand Lisboa Palace in Q3
Although the company wanted to open the Grand Lisboa Palace in May or June, the date has been pushed back to the third quarter of the year.
The delay is due to the approval of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) Occupancy Permit (OP).
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.
In May, SJM Holdings announced the closing of the issuance of new senior notes aimed to raise funds.
The company stated that net proceeds from the offering of the senior notes reach nearly HK$1.24bn (US$160m) and MOP298m (US$12.3m).
Approximately 90 per cent of the net proceeds from the proposed offering will be used for refinancing syndicated credit facilities.
During the first quarter of the year, SJM Holdings reported that net revenue in the first three months of the year was down by 29 per cent year-on-year to HK$2.4bn (US$312.9m).
Adjusted EBITDA came in at HK$319 m (US$41.1m) while net losses reached HK$647m (US$83.3m), mainly due to the Grand Lisboa Palace HKD39bn (US$5bn) construction.
SJM Holdings reported revenue of HK$485m (US$62.4m) from the VIP sector, down 59.4 per cent, and HK$2bn (US$263.9m) from the mass market, down 21.3 per cent.
Slot machine gross gaming revenue during the first quarter decreased by 17.3 per cent when compared to the prior-year period.
