Las Vegas Sands is pondering other Asian locations for casino

The casino operator is set to open its Sands Cotai Central resort this year in Macau.

US-based Las Vegas Sands said Thursday that the company iseyeing Taiwan as a possible destination for its resort investment. Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Sands, told reporters that the significant growth in sales and earnings of the casino operator have allowed it to expand by seeking more investment opportunities overseas, particularly in Asia, which has outperformed the world economically.

Adelson said his company is studying the feasibility of building resorts in various Asian countries, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. Las Vegas Sands has entered discussions in possible investment expansion, although more time is needed to finalize exact locations, Adelson said.

In the fourth quarter of last year, the casino operator posted us$ 320.1 million in net profit, up about 17 % from a year earlier, due to the growth of its operations in Macao and Singapore. During the quarter, the company's sales hit us$ 2.54 billion, up 26 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat a market expectation of us$ 2.47 billion.

In Macao, where Las Vegas Sands operates Sands Macao, Venetian Macao and Four Seasons Hotel, the casino operator is developing Sands Cotai Central, the largest integrated resort project in the company's history, the first phase of which is scheduled to open in two months. The Sands Cotai Central is expected to provide 6,400 rooms for visitors, the company said.