Total investment is expected to reach us$ 580 million

Melco eyes PSE listing to fund casino project

2012-09-17
Reading time 1:28 min
(Philippines).- Melco International Development, an investment holding company in Hong Kong, is exploring the possibility of listing at the Philippine Stock Exchange to raise us$ 300 million for a casino project it plans with Sy-led Belle Corp. Informed sources said Melco was considering various options to list at the local bourse.

Informed sources said Melco was considering various options to list at the local bourse, including listing its shares by way of introduction or by listing a locally-incorporated company, which would own the casino operations in the Philippines.

Proceeds from the planned listing will be used to develop a world-class casino, hotel, retail and entertainment complex in Pagcor Entertainment City.

Melco International is a major shareholder of Macau-based casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment, which recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Belle Corp. to develop Belle Grande Manila.

Melco Crown’s total investment in the project is expected to reach us$ 580 million, which will be funded through a combination of cash and debt financing. A us$ 320-million loan facility may be made available to Melco Crown to partly finance the project.

Belle Grande is an integrated resort that will span more than 250,000 square meters of gross floor area, including 17,000 sq. m. of gaming space and more than 20,000 sq. m. of retail and restaurant facilities. It will also have more than 800 hotel rooms. The grand opening of Belle is scheduled in the first quarter of 2013.

Melco Crown, through a Macau subsidiary, holds a gaming sub-concession for casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities in Macau. It operates Altira Macau, a casino hotel located at Taipa, Macau and City of Dreams, an integrated urban casino resort located in Cotai, Macau. The company is also developing the planned Studio City Project, a large integrated entertainment, retail and gaming resort in Cotai, Macau.

Belle is one of the four companies granted license by state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to operate casino and entertainment complex in Pagcor City, in Paranaque City.

The three others are Razon-led Bloomberry Resorts, Travellers International Holdings, a joint venture between Alliance Global Group and Genting and Tiger Resorts, Leisure and Entertainment of Aruze Corp. of Japan.

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