CapitaLand denies having talks with Sands

[Merl Haggard]

CapitaLand says no casino talks with Las Vegas Sands



SINGAPORE, 10th Nov 10 Reuters - Property developer CapitaLand said on Monday it has not held any talks with Las Vegas Sands over its Singapore casino-resort project.

The statement came after brokerage firm CIMB said in a report on Monday that CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's biggest property firm, and the Singapore government may take over the casino-resort if Las Vegas Sands fails to avert loan defaults.

Local newspapers have reported that Las Vegas Sands had held talks with the Singapore government about the project, which is targeted to open at the end of 2009.

"CapitaLand wishes to clarify that no discussion has transpired between itself and Sands," it said in a statement. "In the present continuing global recessionary environment, it is strategically watching the situation and studying opportunities related to distressed companies or assets, in Singapore and other core markets," CapitaLand said. CapitaLand is 40 percent owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings.

Last week Las Vegas Sands affirmed its commitment to the Marina Bay project in Singapore as investors became concerned about its fate after the casino operator's auditor said there are doubts about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

Thomson Reuters 2008.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________



Without China high-roller market, nobody is interested to be saddled with a mega casino-project except for LKY & LHL.

 

[madmansg]

cimb is malaysia kelong broker anyhow raise rumours. I am surprise SGX allow this kind of half past six broker into local market. CEO of SGX worst ceo of all times. IMHO.

 

[Merl Haggard]

The Marina Bay IR is doomed to fail! The initial US$4 billion cost for development has escalated to S$8.6 billion.
The exorbitant development cost will bleed any operator who dares to undertake its development & operation.

 

[chinkangkor]

Do you think amending the design plan will help to cut down development cost?

 

[Merl Haggard]

It's too late to make any changes of design. Construction of the three 55 tower blocks has reached 14 storey.

 

[cass888]

Pity. I was hoping GLC will buy the $5 billion project from Sands at $2 billion or something. Guess the pressure of the banks prevented that.

CapitaLand says no casino talks with Las Vegas Sands



SINGAPORE, 10th Nov 10 Reuters - Property developer CapitaLand said on Monday it has not held any talks with Las Vegas Sands over its Singapore casino-resort project.

The statement came after brokerage firm CIMB said in a report on Monday that CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's biggest property firm, and the Singapore government may take over the casino-resort if Las Vegas Sands fails to avert loan defaults.

Local newspapers have reported that Las Vegas Sands had held talks with the Singapore government about the project, which is targeted to open at the end of 2009.

"CapitaLand wishes to clarify that no discussion has transpired between itself and Sands," it said in a statement. "In the present continuing global recessionary environment, it is strategically watching the situation and studying opportunities related to distressed companies or assets, in Singapore and other core markets," CapitaLand said. CapitaLand is 40 percent owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings.

Last week Las Vegas Sands affirmed its commitment to the Marina Bay project in Singapore as investors became concerned about its fate after the casino operator's auditor said there are doubts about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

Thomson Reuters 2008.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________



Without China high-roller market, nobody is interested to be saddled with a mega casino-project except for LKY & LHL.

 

[kuntakinte]

Ya, sure, GLC should also start a school to train croupiers and IR management staff. Government should also subsidizes Sinkies so that Sinkies can have a taste of locally managed Casino at least once in their life time.......

Pity. I was hoping GLC will buy the $5 billion project from Sands at $2 billion or something. Guess the pressure of the banks prevented that.

 

[cass888]

You're not thinking. It's not difficult to pay a few tens of millions a year to hire an FT from Vegas.

Or, they can outsource to Genting who would be happy to run both casinos (no competition). After the financial crisis the long run should be able to sell for $3 billion or so. If Genting refuses to buy, Stanley Ho.

Ya, sure, GLC should also start a school to train croupiers and IR management staff. Government should also subsidizes Sinkies so that Sinkies can have a taste of locally managed Casino at least once in their life time.......

 

[0939]

Stanley Ho will be watching and waiting.

 

[ah_phah]

Do you think amending the design plan will help to cut down development cost?

any changes now to the design will only incur more costs, as it affects foundation works reworks to the civil engineering complications. for any form of development, once ground works r on the way, there's no turning back.

the only way to cut corners, is to substitute with inferior materials. and who knows if we'd see another hotel new world repeat itself for the 3 tombs

 

[The_Latest_H]

CapitaLand says no casino talks with Las Vegas Sands



SINGAPORE, 10th Nov 10 Reuters - Property developer CapitaLand said on Monday it has not held any talks with Las Vegas Sands over its Singapore casino-resort project.

The statement came after brokerage firm CIMB said in a report on Monday that CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's biggest property firm, and the Singapore government may take over the casino-resort if Las Vegas Sands fails to avert loan defaults.

Local newspapers have reported that Las Vegas Sands had held talks with the Singapore government about the project, which is targeted to open at the end of 2009.

"CapitaLand wishes to clarify that no discussion has transpired between itself and Sands," it said in a statement. "In the present continuing global recessionary environment, it is strategically watching the situation and studying opportunities related to distressed companies or assets, in Singapore and other core markets," CapitaLand said. CapitaLand is 40 percent owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings.

Last week Las Vegas Sands affirmed its commitment to the Marina Bay project in Singapore as investors became concerned about its fate after the casino operator's auditor said there are doubts about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

Thomson Reuters 2008.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________



Without China high-roller market, nobody is interested to be saddled with a mega casino-project except for LKY & LHL.

Well, if the IR crashes under the management of state-owned Capitaland, it would definitely show the world- including the business world- on how inept our PAP-anointed executives really are.

By that time, they might even make Adelson look smart and intuitive in comparison.

 

[eeoror88]

You're not thinking. It's not difficult to pay a few tens of millions a year to hire an FT from Vegas.

Or, they can outsource to Genting who would be happy to run both casinos (no competition). After the financial crisis the long run should be able to sell for $3 billion or so. If Genting refuses to buy, Stanley Ho.

If Stanley Ho don't want, Li Ka Singh takeover !!

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

Most people has missed one little crucial information revealed by Associated Press about the talk between Singapore Govt and LV Sands a couple of weeks ago.

Apparently, Singapore govt has gone back at its words and made compromises to LV　Sands to allow it to increase the gaming tables from 600 to 1000. This would mean an increase of 66% of gaming tables which would inevitably increase the space needed for the casino, effectively breaching the initial promise of keeping the Casino size to 3% of total land use.

This is not reported in Singapore but only some remarks on "relaxing some rules" to the casino operator.

As all available public information has indicated that LV Sands would not be able to function by end of Dec if it did not get fresh capital injection, it is quite intriguing to note that our PAP govt is so confident about completing the Marina Sands project! What other deals have this govt made with LV Sands?

Could it be that some GLCs would be taking over the project at Marina?

I have put up two articles on LV Sands on my blog singaporealternatives.blogspot.com and let's see whether my predictions come true in the next couple of months.

Goh Meng Seng

 

[Black Swan]

Las Vegas Sands Gets $2.14 Billion, Halts Macau Build (Update1)
2008-11-11 02:24:02.920 GMT


(Adds Singapore details from sixth paragraph.)

By Beth Jinks
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas Sands Corp., the casino company run by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, has commitments for
$2.14 billion in capital and is suspending all construction in Macau to conserve cash following a loss in the third quarter.
The Las Vegas-based company expects to finish the ``oversubscribed'' sale of debt or equity this week, including contributions from the Adelson family, removing the risk of the parent company tripping loan covenants, executives said yesterday on a conference call. A ``major Chinese bank'' may additionally lend the company as much as $700 million to continue its stalled Macau projects, Adelson said.
Las Vegas Sands needs the cash to avoid violating terms of some U.S. loans and setting off a series of defaults that could force it into bankruptcy. The owner of the Venetian and Palazzo casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, where gambling revenue has fallen for eight straight months, said yesterday it's suspending work on developments on the Cotai Strip in Macau, China, its Vegas condominiums, and parts of its Bethlehem, Pennsylvania project to focus on finishing construction in Singapore.
Las Vegas Sands needs ``more financing to finish what's on their plate right now in Macau,'' Robert LaFleur at Susquehanna Financial Group LLLP, said last month. ``That's exceptionally difficult to come by in this market and that uncertainty has been a significant drag on the stock.''
The company will issue a prospectus ``within days,''
executives said on the call, declining to specify whether it was selling debt or equity.

Singapore Casino

Las Vegas Sands extended the deadline for finishing parts of Marina Sands in Singapore into 2010. The casino, two hotel towers, and parts of the mall, public spaces, as well as meeting and convention areas are to open as scheduled by the end of 2009.
Design changes will allow the Singapore casino to house as many as 1,000 gambling tables, up from about the 600 earlier planned, Las Vegas Sands said. It expects the Singapore project to deliver earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent of $1.26 billion in 2012.
Sands, based in Las Vegas, fell 50 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $7.50 at 7:59 p.m. after the close of New York Stock Exchange composite trading. In the past month, it was usurped as the world's largest casino company by market value. Wynn Resorts Ltd.
is now the biggest, followed by MGM Mirage.

Analysts' Estimates

The company posted a third-quarter loss of $32.2 million, or
9 cents a share. Excluding some items such as development costs and a loss on the sale of some assets, the company's earnings per share were 2 cents. That missed the 10-cent average estimate of
18 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Revenue rose to $1.11 billion from $661 million, missing the
$1.17 billion average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
The year-earlier loss was $48.5 million, or 14 cents, after Las Vegas Sands incurred expenses preparing to open new casino resorts in Macau and Vegas.
Las Vegas Sands has lost 92 percent of its market value this year on investor concerns that falling casino revenue and the global financial meltdown will leave the company without enough cash to pay for expansion projects or cover its loans.

Goldman Sachs

Billionaire Chief Executive Officer Adelson, who owns about two-thirds of Las Vegas Sands, injected $475 million Sept. 30, hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help raise more capital and said he would participate in the financing. The company made a filing with regulators Nov. 6 to allow it to quickly sell stocks or bonds if it finds investors.
Adelson met with Singapore government officials last week, and pledged to complete the $4 billion project in the city-state.
Hong Kong and Macau bankers are also discussing financing for Las Vegas Sands' Macau projects, said two people involved in the transaction.
In Macau, Las Vegas Sands will stop work on the remaining five phases it had planned on the Cotai Strip until it finds financing. The Macau government is ``encouraging'' Chinese banks to lend Las Vegas Sands the money it needs to continue the half- finished phases 5 and 6, Adelson said on the call.
The company aims to raise financing in three to six months to finish phases 5 and 6, which are the Shangri-La and Traders tower, the first Sheraton tower and a podium that includes a casino, public areas, part of a mall and a meeting space.

Stalled Projects

In Las Vegas, the casino owner will suspend development of its St. Regis Residences condominium, and in Bethlehem it has stopped work on the mall, hotel and conference center to focus on finishing the casino and parking garage, the company confirmed.
Bethlehem Mayor John B. Callahan said in a Nov. 6 interview the projects had stalled.
Sands is constructing a 20,000-room complex of hotels and casinos in Macau, which overtook the Las Vegas Strip as the world's biggest gambling hub in 2006. Adelson plans to sell Sands' Four Seasons apartment hotel in Macau as a co-operative and also wants to sell the attached mall space.
Las Vegas Strip casino gambling revenue slid 6.7 percent this year through August, on track for its biggest annual decline on record, as airlines cut back capacity and consumers, battling falling home values, job losses and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, spent less.
China has increased visa restrictions on some mainland residents traveling to Macau, causing casino gambling revenue in the former Portuguese colony to fall to 26 billion patacas ($3.28
billion) in the third quarter from 28.9 billion patacas in the second.

 

[Tiu-leh-see-fart]

Casino in Singapore will be built over a dead body !

Next year(2009), Marina gambling den will be open for business, and it is the year many are waiting for.

But there seems to have an evil force disrupting this progress---sands is falling, financial market is going to the dogs......

But the curse is so strong that even the divine cannot stop this destiny.

Marina sands is employing workers now, the PAP govt is on the stand-by to help sands while sands suspends it macau's project.

The curse must go on......this is a destiny......the three tablets are also not a coincidence.....they represent three joss-sticks....the fengshui people had missed out this point.

Those 40K who signed petition against Gambling dens are saint no more, they cannot undo this curse.

Marina gambling den will open over a dead body in 2009, and YOU GUYS KNOW WHO will go!

This is a curse, nothing can stop it or undo it, the Marina shall open in 2009.

You people should rejoice over that dead body in 2009!

CapitaLand says no casino talks with Las Vegas Sands



SINGAPORE, 10th Nov 10 Reuters - Property developer CapitaLand said on Monday it has not held any talks with Las Vegas Sands over its Singapore casino-resort project.

The statement came after brokerage firm CIMB said in a report on Monday that CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's biggest property firm, and the Singapore government may take over the casino-resort if Las Vegas Sands fails to avert loan defaults.

Local newspapers have reported that Las Vegas Sands had held talks with the Singapore government about the project, which is targeted to open at the end of 2009.

"CapitaLand wishes to clarify that no discussion has transpired between itself and Sands," it said in a statement. "In the present continuing global recessionary environment, it is strategically watching the situation and studying opportunities related to distressed companies or assets, in Singapore and other core markets," CapitaLand said. CapitaLand is 40 percent owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings.

Last week Las Vegas Sands affirmed its commitment to the Marina Bay project in Singapore as investors became concerned about its fate after the casino operator's auditor said there are doubts about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

Thomson Reuters 2008.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________



Without China high-roller market, nobody is interested to be saddled with a mega casino-project except for LKY & LHL.

 

[KKC007]

Casino in Singapore will be built over a dead body !

Next year(2009), Marina gambling den will be open for business, and it is the year many are waiting for.

But there seems to have an evil force disrupting this progress---sands is falling, financial market is going to the dogs......

But the curse is so strong that even the divine cannot stop this destiny.

Marina sands is employing workers now, the PAP govt is on the stand-by to help sands while sands suspends it macau's project.

The curse must go on......this is a destiny......the three tablets are also not a coincidence.....they represent three joss-sticks....the fengshui people had missed out this point.

Those 40K who signed petition against Gambling dens are saint no more, they cannot undo this curse.

Marina gambling den will open over a dead body in 2009, and YOU GUYS KNOW WHO will go!

This is a curse, nothing can stop it or undo it, the Marina shall open in 2009.

You people should rejoice over that dead body in 2009!

Another way to look at this is Marina IR is having so much problem because LKY is still around. Maybe Adelson will send a hitman to finish off LKY

 

[eeoror88]

There is no smoke without a fire !!

In this case better buy more capitaland shares !!

 

[cass888]

You're right on that. The people here are barking up the wrong tree.

Despite all the financial turmoil, I have no doubt that the casino and accompanying hotels will open. In fact, the casino just grew larger. It's the rest of the IR that I'm worried about.

Most people has missed one little crucial information revealed by Associated Press about the talk between Singapore Govt and LV Sands a couple of weeks ago.

Apparently, Singapore govt has gone back at its words and made compromises to LV　Sands to allow it to increase the gaming tables from 600 to 1000. This would mean an increase of 66% of gaming tables which would inevitably increase the space needed for the casino, effectively breaching the initial promise of keeping the Casino size to 3% of total land use.

This is not reported in Singapore but only some remarks on "relaxing some rules" to the casino operator.

As all available public information has indicated that LV Sands would not be able to function by end of Dec if it did not get fresh capital injection, it is quite intriguing to note that our PAP govt is so confident about completing the Marina Sands project! What other deals have this govt made with LV Sands?

Could it be that some GLCs would be taking over the project at Marina?

I have put up two articles on LV Sands on my blog singaporealternatives.blogspot.com and let's see whether my predictions come true in the next couple of months.

Goh Meng Seng

 

[DannyBoyBoy]

Las Vegas Sands secures US$2b capital funding, remains committed to S'pore project

SINGAPORE: Las Vegas Sands said Tuesday it has secured over US$2 billion in capital funding commitments to avoid violating loan agreements.

President and Chief Operating Officer William Weidner said in a conference call that Sands expects to close the transaction by the end of the week.

He continued to say that however, there will be some changes to Sands' overseas resort developments.

It will stop construction work at two sites in Macau's Cotai Strip pending project financing arrangements.

Mr Weidner said Sands hopes to have an agreement with a major Chinese bank within the next three to six months.

Sands will also suspend the building of its St Regis Residence luxury-condominium project in Las Vegas indefinitely.

The operator said it expects to save US$1.8 billion by delaying and curbing plans for those projects.

But Sands said it remains committed to its Marina Bay Sands project in Singapore, and expects to open the resort by late 2009 according to plan.

Sands said it expects a significant return on capital from the Marina Bay Sands resort project.

It assured that the current capital market conditions will not significantly impact the integrated resort development in Singapore.

Sands also released its third quarter financial results overnight.

It narrowed its net loss to US$32.2 million, compared with US$48.5 million a year ago.

Sands said this is due to increases in operating income and an income tax gain.

Revenue increased by two-thirds to US$1.1 billion.

- CNA/yb