- Impact
- 45
For all the Macau fans out there, here is a jolt of good news, the wheels are spinning and fast!:
Sands bets $11bn on Macau
Joe Leahy, Hong Kong
July 25, 2006
LAS Vegas Sands is planning to invest more than $US8 billion ($10.6 billion) in its casino, leisure and convention facilities in Macau and a neighbouring island over the next six years.
The size of the investment, double the figure reported originally, is part of the US-based gaming company's plans to change the face of the former Portuguese enclave's tourism industry, from offering one-day gambling trips to becoming a longer-stay destination.
Company president and chief operating officer Bill Weidner said: "These development opportunities are contingent upon approvals by government at several levels and will occur in phases over time as the markets develop and mature."
The company's plans for Macau follow its success in Singapore, where it has won the rights to build and operate the $US3.6 billion Marina Bay casino complex, scheduled to open in 2009. Analysts say both investments should allow it to dominate Asia's two largest casino markets: the greater China market, which Merrill Lynch this year estimated to be worth $US7.3 billion in sales, and the $US3.8 billion South-East Asian market.
Mr Weidner said the US company's total investments and turnover would triple as a result of its initiatives in Asia.
"Most of the company's investments and revenues will be in Asia," he said.
The company is seeking to emulate its Las Vegas business model in Singapore and Macau. In Las Vegas last year, industry-wide non-gaming revenues came in at $US9.2 billion, outstripping casino sales of $US6.3 billion.
In Macau, the company plans to spend $US3 billion each in two phases on the Cotai Strip. The company is also in talks to develop Heng Qin island, a Chinese island bordering the Cotai Strip.
Sands bets $11bn on Macau
Joe Leahy, Hong Kong
July 25, 2006
LAS Vegas Sands is planning to invest more than $US8 billion ($10.6 billion) in its casino, leisure and convention facilities in Macau and a neighbouring island over the next six years.
The size of the investment, double the figure reported originally, is part of the US-based gaming company's plans to change the face of the former Portuguese enclave's tourism industry, from offering one-day gambling trips to becoming a longer-stay destination.
Company president and chief operating officer Bill Weidner said: "These development opportunities are contingent upon approvals by government at several levels and will occur in phases over time as the markets develop and mature."
The company's plans for Macau follow its success in Singapore, where it has won the rights to build and operate the $US3.6 billion Marina Bay casino complex, scheduled to open in 2009. Analysts say both investments should allow it to dominate Asia's two largest casino markets: the greater China market, which Merrill Lynch this year estimated to be worth $US7.3 billion in sales, and the $US3.8 billion South-East Asian market.
Mr Weidner said the US company's total investments and turnover would triple as a result of its initiatives in Asia.
"Most of the company's investments and revenues will be in Asia," he said.
The company is seeking to emulate its Las Vegas business model in Singapore and Macau. In Las Vegas last year, industry-wide non-gaming revenues came in at $US9.2 billion, outstripping casino sales of $US6.3 billion.
In Macau, the company plans to spend $US3 billion each in two phases on the Cotai Strip. The company is also in talks to develop Heng Qin island, a Chinese island bordering the Cotai Strip.