SJM Holdings refinancing plan gets final approval
Banks have granted their approval of the plans following government approval last month.
Macau.- Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, chairman of SJM Holdings, has confirmed the company has received banks’ approval for its plan to refinance its existing bank loans with a new loan line of HK$19.0bn (US$2.44bn). The authorities in Macau had already approved the plan in May and the company was only waiting for the banks’ approval.
According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, the refinancing will provide the company with HK$6bn of additional liquidity as it draws down HK$13bn of previous loans. The new maturity date for the lines will be 2028.
In May, it was also revealed the casino operator could access a HK$5bn (US$637m) loan from controlling shareholder STDM to confront liquidity problems after the company posted a loss of HK$1.28bn (US$163.4m) for the first quarter of the year.
In the first three months of the year, SJM’s VIP gaming revenue was HK$344m, down 29.1 per cent year-on-year. Gross gaming revenue for the mass market was just under HK$2.06bn, up 0.3 per cent year-on-year. Slot machine GGR totalled HK$139m, an increase of 19.5 per cent year-on-year.
