Melco Crown to raise up to us$ 600 million via share sale

Melco, a joint venture between Lawrence Ho, son of gaming mogul Stanley Ho, and Australian entertainment tycoon James Packer, would launch its offering in the fourth quarter, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing an unnamed source.

The casino operator, already listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, plans to raise between us$ 400 million and us$ 600 million in the southern Chinese financial hub, Dow Jones said. Melco Crown said Thursday it had applied for a Hong Kong listing, but did not say how much it planned to raise or when the flotation would go ahead.

In June, the firm said it would pay us$ 360 million for a controlling stake in a new gaming resort call Macau Studio City, its second in the gaming hub. Melco said it will spend us$ 1.7 billion developing the 2,000-room resort, with construction starting as early as next year to meet a 2015 completion target.

Its listing plans come after MGM China Holdings, a casino firm jointly owned by US-based MGM Resorts International and Stanley Ho's daughter Pansy, listed in Hong Kong in June after raising about us$ 1.5 billion. US rivals Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts have also listed their Macau units in nearby Hong Kong.

Macau, the world's biggest gaming hub and the only place in China where casinos are legal, drew us$ 23.5 billion in gaming revenue last year, outpacing the Las Vegas Strip four-fold.