SJM Gets Macau Government's Approval For Cotai Resort, Casino

   By Yvonne Lee 
 

HONG KONG--Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd. (0880.HK) said late Friday that it received the Macau government's approval for the development of a casino resort in Cotai, Macau.

Chief Executive Ambrose So said the casino resort will enable the company--Macau's largest casino operator by revenue--to expand its operations from the Macau peninsula to Macau's Cotai area, where rivals are investing billions to build casino resorts.

SJM said the company has accepted a land concession contract from the Macau government and intends to develop a casino with 700 gaming tables and 1,000 slot machines as well as a five-star hotel with 2,000 hotel rooms.

SJM paid the government about 2.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$268 million) for the land concession and expects construction to begin after the publication of the land concession contract in the Official Gazette of Macau, a process that could take up to 36 months.

On Thursday, smaller rival gaming company MGM China Holdings Ltd. (2282.HK) said it had received approval to build its US$2.5 billion casino project in Macau.

Macau is the only place where gambling is legal in China. Cotai has become the new center of growth in booming Macau and home to Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s (LVS) Venetian Macao casino-resort. But after an initial burst of excitement, the government had stopped approving new projects, making would-be builders including SJM, MGM China and Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) wait years for approval.

Write to Yvonne Lee at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires