<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Oct 25, 2008
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Sands mogul seeks $3b <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Casino owner Adelson wants to raise cash to complete new Macau project </TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
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PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->NEW YORK: Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson (above) has said he is seeking to raise US$2 billion (S$3 billion) in debt financing from Asian banks to complete work on expansion projects planned by Las Vegas Sands Corp in Macau.
He disputed reports that Las Vegas Sands, which operates the Venetian and Palazzo resorts in Las Vegas and the Sands Macao and Venetian Macao in the Chinese city, had abandoned plans to secure funding or was having trouble getting banks to agree to terms.
'We hope to find a more receptive air over there than in the US,' he said, explaining that foreign banks are in better shape to participate in such deals than their US counterparts right now.
The Cotai Strip project in Macau, due to be completed in 2011, is to include retail malls plus hotels that will be operated by some of the biggest names in hospitality, such as Sheraton, St Regis, Hilton, Conrad, Shangri-La and Traders.
Mr Adelson, who controls nearly 70 per cent of Las Vegas Sands personally and through family trusts, said he can put on hold the refinancing of US$3.3 billion in debt that comes due in 2011 to 2013. He and his wife Miriam loaned the company US$475 million this month through a 6.5 per cent convertible note due in 2013. The investment helped Las Vegas Sands meet its liquidity requirements and avoid triggering a loan covenant.
Mr Adelson agreed that his confidence in Las Vegas Sands must be high if he is willing to contribute his own cash.
Las Vegas Sands is among several casino companies, including MGM Mirage and Wynn Resorts Ltd, that saw a dip in revenue in Macau this summer as China tightened visa restrictions on its residents' travel to the island.
Chinese nationals make up more than half the patrons of casinos in Macau, which is an hour by high-speed ferry from Hong Kong. Macau is the only city in China where gambling is legal.
And with total revenue topping US$10.3 billion last year - against US$6.8 billion on the Las Vegas Strip - Macau has emerged as the world's most lucrative gambling centre.
Most of the growth came after the government ended tycoon Stanley Ho's monopoly on the gambling industry when Macau was returned to Chinese rule from Portugal in 1999.
Many casino companies have already begun feeling the repercussions from the current credit crisis. Boyd Gaming recently postponed work on its US$4.8 billion Echelon resort in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas-based company, whose ratings were lowered by Moody's last week, also suspended its annual cash common dividend. ASSOCIATED PRESS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Sands mogul seeks $3b <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Casino owner Adelson wants to raise cash to complete new Macau project </TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->NEW YORK: Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson (above) has said he is seeking to raise US$2 billion (S$3 billion) in debt financing from Asian banks to complete work on expansion projects planned by Las Vegas Sands Corp in Macau.
He disputed reports that Las Vegas Sands, which operates the Venetian and Palazzo resorts in Las Vegas and the Sands Macao and Venetian Macao in the Chinese city, had abandoned plans to secure funding or was having trouble getting banks to agree to terms.
'We hope to find a more receptive air over there than in the US,' he said, explaining that foreign banks are in better shape to participate in such deals than their US counterparts right now.
The Cotai Strip project in Macau, due to be completed in 2011, is to include retail malls plus hotels that will be operated by some of the biggest names in hospitality, such as Sheraton, St Regis, Hilton, Conrad, Shangri-La and Traders.
Mr Adelson, who controls nearly 70 per cent of Las Vegas Sands personally and through family trusts, said he can put on hold the refinancing of US$3.3 billion in debt that comes due in 2011 to 2013. He and his wife Miriam loaned the company US$475 million this month through a 6.5 per cent convertible note due in 2013. The investment helped Las Vegas Sands meet its liquidity requirements and avoid triggering a loan covenant.
Mr Adelson agreed that his confidence in Las Vegas Sands must be high if he is willing to contribute his own cash.
Las Vegas Sands is among several casino companies, including MGM Mirage and Wynn Resorts Ltd, that saw a dip in revenue in Macau this summer as China tightened visa restrictions on its residents' travel to the island.
Chinese nationals make up more than half the patrons of casinos in Macau, which is an hour by high-speed ferry from Hong Kong. Macau is the only city in China where gambling is legal.
And with total revenue topping US$10.3 billion last year - against US$6.8 billion on the Las Vegas Strip - Macau has emerged as the world's most lucrative gambling centre.
Most of the growth came after the government ended tycoon Stanley Ho's monopoly on the gambling industry when Macau was returned to Chinese rule from Portugal in 1999.
Many casino companies have already begun feeling the repercussions from the current credit crisis. Boyd Gaming recently postponed work on its US$4.8 billion Echelon resort in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas-based company, whose ratings were lowered by Moody's last week, also suspended its annual cash common dividend. ASSOCIATED PRESS
