ADVFN Logo

We could not find any results for:
Make sure your spelling is correct or try broadening your search.

Trending Now

Toplists

It looks like you aren't logged in.
Click the button below to log in and view your recent history.

Hot Features

Registration Strip Icon for discussion Register to chat with like-minded investors on our interactive forums.

MACA Mac Alpha Limited

175.00
0.00 (0.00%)
Last Updated: 00:00:00
Delayed by 15 minutes
Mac Alpha Investors - MACA

Mac Alpha Investors - MACA

Share Name Share Symbol Market Stock Type
Mac Alpha Limited MACA London Ordinary Share
  Price Change Price Change % Share Price Last Trade
0.00 0.00% 175.00 00:00:00
Open Price Low Price High Price Close Price Previous Close
175.00
more quote information »

Top Investor Posts

Top Posts
Posted at 21/8/2008 01:09 by energyi
Raising the stakes
30/07/2007



With a total area of merely 28.6 square kilometers, Macau astonished the world last year when it overtook Las Vegas to become the world's largest single gaming center.
This followed the move by the Macau government to terminate the monopoly status of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau in 2002.

Even though the move was not applauded by Stanley Ho Hung-sun, who owns the gaming conglomerate SJM, it was good news for other gaming players, including Macau Success (0487).

Riding on the opportunities offered by market liberalization, Macau Success went for a back-door listing on the Hong Kong bourse in 2003 by acquiring stakes in a loss-making company called China Development Corp, executive director Hoffman Ma Ho-man recalled.

Despite having "Macau" as part of the company's name, it did not have direct exposure to the fast-growing Macau gaming market. But this will change when Ponte 16, a flagship project it owns and operates, is launched.

It beat other competitors to become SJM's partner in the world's largest gaming center.

Back in the 1990s, Sonny Yeung Hoi-sing, chairman of Macau Success, was already involved in the gaming business in Macau. He was the operator of Golden Palace, a VIP room, in SJM's Casino Lisboa, Ma said.

"As one of the top three VIP room operators and having a good business relationship with SJM, Yeung was invited to be a partner," he added.

Ponte 16 then became the core business for Macau Success.

Initially, it only held 10 percent shares in Ponte 16, but gradually lifted its stake to 49 percent by December 2006 after several share placements, including a HK$370 million share placement in November 2004; selling 5.6 percent of shares to Joy Idea Investments, a VIP room operator in Macau, as strategic investors in 2006.

With the shareholders' structure settled, Ponte 16 is ready to launch its operations.

But the competition is severe.

There are 26 casinos operating in Macau, more than double the 11 casinos in 2002. There are a total of 3,102 gaming tables and 8,234 slot machines, eight times and nine times more than 2002, respectively, according to data from Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

While more casinos are in the pipeline, including The Venetian, the second project for Las Vegas Sands, and the MGM Grand Paradise, both of which will both this year, market competition is intensifying.


Analysts generally believe the average net revenue per table will continue to decline in 2007 and 2008.

Morgan Stanley believes a recovery in revenue per table will not happen until 2011, after hitting bottom at US$2,000 (HK$15,600) per table per day, because of the increase in casinos.

Nevertheless, Ma believes their network and know-how in the city is their advantage over the overseas giants.

"The needs and habits of mainland customers is different from that in Las Vegas," Ma said. He believes simply copying the model from Las Vegas will not be successful.

"Gamblers in Macau tend to have a larger bet and show more passion in gaming than those in Las Vegas, which leads to a smaller demand for entertainment shows or quality meals."

Rather than adopting the international Las Vegas style, Ponte 16 will make use of its geographic location to distinguish itself from competitors, Ma added.

Located at the Inner Harbor in the old town, the HK$2.4 billion integrated casino resort will feature a European Riviera theme, building on the atmosphere of the former Portuguese colony.

Ma believes the casino will benefit from the new pier to be built at Inner Harbor, which will have ferry services connected to Zhuhai and two other places in Guangdong. This would help bring in customers as the Gongbei immigration gate, which is connected to Zhuhai, is heavily congested.

"Cotai Strip will develop towards the Las Vegas style, while those casinos on the Macau Peninsula will focus on gamblers or visitors looking for the real Macau experience," he said.

The casino, which will house 150 mass-market gaming tables, 24 VIP tables and 300 slot machines, the 423-room five-star hotel Sofitel Macau@Ponte 16 and a shopping arcade will open in phases. Dates are yet to be announced.

Looking ahead, Ma is optimistic.

"Underpinned by the robust economic growth of China and Asia, the prospects of Macau's gaming market will definitely outpace Las Vegas," he said. "In a market growing at over 20 percent per annum, I am very optimistic about the future."

Eyeing a 6 percent to 10 percent market share in Macau's gaming market by revenue, Ma hopes to recoup the investment on Ponte 16 within three years. He is hoping for an opportunity to develop a second casino project.

Sharon Wong of Standard & Poor's expects net profit of Macau Success to be HK$12 million for the year ended September 30, 2007, the lowest since it listed in 2003, because of the absence of interest income from the King Seiner Palace Promotor loan.

However, she expects its net profit to surge to HK$205 million in fiscal 2008 once the Ponte 16 comes onstream.

/see:
Posted at 26/3/2007 05:58 by energyi
BEARISH Story on Macau Casinos in today's SCMP, entitled:
"Winning Run ends as Macau Plays tumbles"

It talks about:

+ the 22-26% falls in the main two US markers, WYNN, and LVS
+ shares in Melco have plunged as much as 40% from their Dec.19th debut on Nasdaq
+ "the shares remain hugely expensive, and investors and analsyts are worried about rising costs in Macau, underwhelming growth in visitor spending and infrastructure bottelnecks"

+ "the current trend doesnt support the massively bullish argument- that you build it, and they will come, and that each time you open a new property, you are going to see a surge in visitations from the mass-market Chines visitor
+ Despite an 18 percent rise in vistations, spending per visitor rose only 1 percent
+ Gaming revenues from the walk-in mass market appeared to be growing at a 30 to 40 percent clip, and the VIP market looked aneamic at 3 per cent
+ Important, because margins on mass-market are 35 to 40 percent, against only 10 to 15 percent on VIP business (due ti big fees paid to VIP tour organisers). However, there was an error in the data collection. The real figures were more like: 15% and 9%, respectively.

= =

THIS IS CASINOS,
But some of the disappointment is likely to spill over into the Macau property market, especially if disappointing share performance continues
Posted at 26/1/2007 15:06 by energyi
"The Macau Government, however, had concrete plans to diversify its economy from tourism and leisure into more stable growth areas, and started developing institutional infrastructure to support their plans. In October 1999, the Government introduced the Macau Offshore Law with an objective of promoting its offshore service businesses. It offered very competitive tax incentives to multinational companies that applied to set-up offshore businesses in Macau. For instance, qualified offshore companies could enjoy full exemption from all forms of taxes, including income tax and industrial tax. In addition, managers and specialised technicians were exempted from salaries tax for the first three years of their employment at the offshore companies.

To set up a qualified offshore business, investors had to abide by various rules. For example, the offshore business could only use non-Macau currency for their activities. They could target only non-Macau residents as customers, and focus only on non-Macau markets."

...more:
Posted at 26/1/2007 04:45 by energyi
Chinese Estates makes hk$8 Billion Macau Push
peggy Sitto- SCMP, 26 Jan.2007

CE is spending hk$8bn on a development project near the Cotai Strip casino area

Four phases: 24 residential blocks and one serviced apt. tower
Providing: 3,500 units of 5 million sf : cost: maybe hk$8.6bn by 2013
Scheduled for completion in 2010, first phase would cost hk$1.8 billion.
With a phase one completion of 680 units of 1,100sf - 2,900sf

Building costs: present level: hk$1,000 - 1,500 psf
Land cost: hk$1.4 billion (2005)

Financing: hk$1.6 billion, 3.5 year term loan with 7 banks:
+ OCBC(Hong Kong), Agricultural Bank of China (HK), Bank of East Asia
+ Ching Hing Bank, Banco Commercial de Macau, Send Heng Bank,
China Construction Bank (Asia)

...more:

= = = BACKGROUND = = =
In Macao Chinese Estates bought 78700 square metres of land near Macao International Airport for 1.61 billion Hong Kong dollars (161 million euros).
@:

Promised Land
Planning consultants have been appointed for the first stages of Macau's ambitious new land reclamation project which will see its total surface area increase by more than 13 per cent and create massive opportunities for developers. The US firm Belt Collins will oversee initial work on the huge scheme, which will add nearly 400 hectares to the Macau peninsula and western Taipa.

Ao Man-long, Secretary for Transport and Public Works, announced details in the Government's 20 year urban development plan. It also allows for 330 hectares of existing land to be developed.
Property developers are especially excited as up to 40 per cent of the new land will be available for housing and commercial uses to accommodate around 120,000 people. Civil engineering firms will also have a big pay day as several ambitious schemes, including a cross-harbour tunnel to ease traffic on bridges between Macau and Taipa, and a ring road in a tunnel skirting the Outer Harbour are also planned.

Luxury Best Policy for AIA
The American International Assurance Co Ltd (AIA) has signed the largest office leasing deal in Macau's history with Jones Lang LaSalle.
The contract is for about 4,200 square metres of floor space in the enclave's first Grade A office building, but the value has not been disclosed. The building, which was known as the International Gateway, and is located in Macau's central business district, has now been renamed the AIA Tower.
It was acquired last year by a consortium comprising Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds, Pioneer Global Group and Wachovia Bank for HK$600 million. They also invested HK$100 million to refurbish the interior.
AIA plans to move there before the end of the second quarter. The insurance company will occupy two-and-a-half storeys of the building, roughly 13 per cent of its total floor area. Jones Lang LaSalle acts as leasing agent and management company for the building, which is 16 storeys high with a total of 31,500 sq metres of premium office space, plus a five-storey podium containing more than 8,500 sq metres of retail space.


Homes Sweet Homes
A contract to build HK$ 1.6 billion worth of new apartments in Macau has been signed by Hong Kong developer Chinese Estates Holdings.
Construction is due to start this month, and the company aims to have pre-sold a quarter of the development (about 1.25 million sq ft) by the middle of the year, despite some analysts suggesting there may be a housing over-supply in some sectors of the Macau market.
The firm is confident of buyers however because it's aiming at the luxury segment. It directly owns 70 per cent of the project, which when completed will consist of 24 residential blocks and one serviced apartment building together totalling about five million sq ft. The work will be done in four phases.

In the first six months of 2005, Chinese Estates recorded net earnings of HK$2 billion, boosted partly by a gain from revaluing investment properties. Of that, it earned HK$51.76 million from property development and trading.
Posted at 29/12/2006 07:14 by energyi
GET NICE - also gets in on the Macau act
========


Get Nice (HK:xxx), a hk-listed securities firm is also getting in on the property game in Macau.

GN has bought 50% of the Grand Waldo hotel (see below) in Macau for hk$1.54 billion from operators Cheng Kwee and Yeung Chi-hang. This transaction will give GN a guaranteed 8% return for 5 years. GN may also consider getting involved in the casino operations thru a VIP room

Map


GN's partner is Macau Prime Properties (MPP), and other investors, who together hold the remaining 50%.

After the acquisition, GN will hold an indirect 25% stake in the three building grand Waldo complex. MPP will hold 20%, and businessman Cheung Chung-kin 5%.

The sale values the complex and underlying land at hk$2.5billion. The buyers will pay mr,cheung and mr.yeung hk$988.5mn and assume hk$550 million in outstanding zero interest debt owed to the pair.

Grand Waldo has a 168-table casino, a 318-room hotel, and a spa. The buyers will not be entitled to gaming revenues, but will receive rent from the tenants.

= =
Get Nice Holdings Ltd
Ticker: 64 / Exchanges: HKG
2006 Sales: 151,170,000
Major Industry: FINANCIAL /Sub Industry: SECURITIES BROKERAGE
Employees: 28
Posted at 26/12/2006 15:11 by energyi
26 May 2005

Managing risk in Macau; Hill & Associates places a bet on Asia's gaming capital

Hill & Associates (H&A), the Hong Kong based risk management and business intelligence firm, today announced plans to open a new branch office in Macau to meet the needs of Asia's burgeoning gaming industry. H&A, has existing relationships with many of the world's largest gaming operators and, with the rapid expansion of the industry, is positioning the company to better service these clients and also to support new entrants into this booming sector.

Kim Frisinger, the company's recently appointed head of Business Intelligence & Integrity Risk, commented on the expansion saying "Gaming is a significant growth market for us both in Macau and elsewhere in Asia.We're setting up in Macau because we need to be close to our clients to make sure they're getting the support they need."

US casino operators doing business in Macau and other overseas jurisdictions are under particular pressure to adhere to compliance regimes such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Patriot Act and Sarbanes-Oxley. They are also required to ensure the same standards of security and integrity are applied as are enforced in the United States by bodies such as the Las Vegas Gaming Commission.

"There are very serious integrity and transparency issues that our clients are worried about.We're there to help them avoid damage to their reputations and to ensure they have all the information they need to make clear and sound business decisions" says John Bruce, H&A's newly appointed Macau General Manager. "The risks that operators face in Asia are similar to those in the United States and elsewhere but local knowledge and experience are vital if new ventures are to succeed. Providing this knowledge and experience is H&A's forte and has been invaluable to a number of potential inward investors. There are significant opportunities in the Asian gaming market and those operators who understand both the opportunities and the risks are those who will profit."

With the opening up of the Macau gaming market, H&A has provided business intelligence and security advice to many of the largest gaming operators in the city and the gaming industry worldwide. Recent assignments outside Macau have included providing anti-money laundering consultancy to a Cambodian venture and advising a major player on the viability of an entry into the Russian gaming market. H&A has provided services to major gaming operators from the United States, Australia, Cambodia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Russia and Macau in the last twelve months and the company is anticipating further growth in this area as investors attempt to gain a foothold in the market.

About Hill & Associates

With 17 offices around the world, Hill & Associates is Asia's leading risk management and business intelligence firm. By combining local knowledge and expertise with world-renowned professionalism, leading edge technology partnerships and a comprehensive range of integrated services, we are able to bring meaningful, value-added solutions to our clients that enable them to operate safely, efficiently and without disruption in some of the worlds most difficult markets.We address a wide range of business risks, including regulatory and compliance issues that potentially threaten our clients' ability to operate and develop comprehensive solutions for both prevention and response.To learn more visit us at www.hill-assoc.com.

@:
Posted at 26/12/2006 14:35 by energyi
Macau Business - Monthly business magazine URL:
Still Hot Property

(Posted: 02/01/06) Locals not sure about the water, but foreigners dive straight in

While local buyers seem to be taking a breather, the current slow down fails to deter global players pouring money into the Macau property market.
Despite the falling residential transaction volume, foreign interest in Macau shows no sign of fading, says Savills Consultancy limited. The company did 87 major valuations here in the last 12 months - 40 per cent for investors from Hong Kong and other parts of the world.

"The number of requests didn't fall even in the run up to Christmas," says Franco Liu, Associate Director of Valuation and Consultancy, "this type of activity shows that the market remains attractive."
The majority of the valuations involve blocks of buildings and sites. In many cases, the investors are planning to create deluxe properties that are set to outclass the existing luxury flats in Macau, says Franco Liu.
"They will adopt international design standards." For instance, the new projects will probably feature more spacious dining rooms with a smaller number of bedrooms, a departure from the local penchant for numerous bedrooms and tiny dining areas. They will also place a greater emphasis on the amenities both inside and outside the apartments, he says.

Logging on to the website of MacauLand.com, you can get a glimpse of what the future luxury flats will look like. It contains promotional information about the Manhattan, a "premium" property project in Taipa. It promises would-be owners "soaking bathtubs", "rainforest showers" and "built-in wine refrigerators". The offerings at the club house include jacuzzis, an outdoor pool, spa treatment rooms, gym and yoga studio and outdoor barbecue terrace. The website also boasts world-class management services, to complement the top notch facilities.
The Manhattan is the latest indication of the robust foreign investment interest in the Macau property market. United States based Citigroup Property Investors bought the development in a joint venture with MacauLand.
CitiGroup Property Investors is joining a growing list of global players who have spent money on Macau property, says Jim Ng, Associate director of Investment at Savills. They include , Morgan Stanley, Henderson Land, Hong Kong Land, Lippo and Cheuk Nang.

Ng suggests locals are not as optimistic as foreigners about the economic future. "The foreign investors are very confident about Macau because they know the experience of Las Vegas. It turned from a desert into a tourist destination. Macau already had a reasonable infrastructure."
"Even though Macau's internal consumption is weak, one million square feet of retail space are being built in Macau. The developers are after the convention business. It really shows how optimistic people who are familiar with Las Vegas are about Macau."

He says that judging by the valuation assignments handled by Savills, foreign investment funds are very keen to invest in Macau, and one even spent 2 million patacas on soil testing before signing any land contract.
Most of the announced projects target highly-paid expatriates and wealthy locals. There are 16,959 up market units planned, according to the Lands, Public Works and Transport Department, of which 7,052 are under construction with the remainder pending approval.

Developers say they are not worried there will be an over supply.
San You Development Company whose portfolio includes Kingsville, Greensville and Hillsville is the seller of The Manhattan site in Taipa. It is also developing Gold Cove, a high-end residential and retail complex, in Orient Pearl District, where the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge link will probably be built.

Gold Cove has 700 luxury residential units, serviced apartment sand a shopping mall, and is scheduled for completion in 2008. Sammy Wong, executive director, of San You, believes that supply is still catching up with the demand in the high sector of the luxury market. With an influx of well-educated expatriates, the demand for quality housing will go up too, anticipates Mr. Wong.

"Unlike Hong Kong, it is not uncommon to live in a 1,000 sq foot apartment in Macau. Can we say they are all luxury apartments?" says Mr. Wong. "There are many criteria. In reality, there are not many genuinely luxury apartments in Macau and the demand is soaring."

@:
Posted at 26/12/2006 14:28 by energyi
Firms chase large space in Manhattan towers project

Strategic investors are in talks with MacauLand and Citigroup Property Investors to buy one of two towers in their joint-venture luxury residential project in Taipa.

Zach Coleman

Friday, February 10, 2006

Strategic investors are in talks with MacauLand and Citigroup Property Investors to buy one of two towers in their joint-venture luxury residential project in Taipa.
The partners plan to begin public sales of apartments in the project, called The Manhattan, in May. Its 169 units are to be ready for occupancy next February.

MacauLand principal Dan Tagliere said he expects prices to start at about 3,000 patacas (HK$2,913) per square foot. He said a number of companies are interested in buying blocks of units in the towers to house staff. The partners plan to retain ownership of a large number of units for leasing.

Two-thirds of the apartments are three-bedroom and the rest have four bedrooms. Unit size ranges from 1,626 square feet to 2,492 sq ft.

Fellow MacauLand principal Benjamin Kao said he expects most units will be occupied by expatriate executives, but added that rising incomes are leading more Macau residents to consider trading up from old, paid-off apartments.

The joint venture partners aim to position The Manhattan as an international-class development. "We want to do for the residential market what Sands did for the gaming market," Kao said.

The Manhattan will feature a 17,000 sq ft clubhouse, shuttle bus service to the city center, air-conditioned elevators and concierge service. Flats will be furnished with high-quality appliances, including wine refrigerators and dual heater/air-conditioners. Buyers will be offered pre-set furniture packages.

British property company Savills will manage The Manhattan, which Kao said will make the towers the first residential buildings in Macau managed by an international company. He believes this will help the development to enforce rules on residents to keep up an upmarket atmosphere at The Manhattan. The project also marks the first Macau investment by Citigroup Property Investors, a unit of US bank Citigroup which invests client and bank funds together in real estate.

Kao and Tagliere declined to say how much the joint venture is investing in the project. Hong Kong-listed Upbest Group said last year that it would spend about HK$95 million to build a 64-unit apartment building on a site across the street from The Manhattan. The company agreed to pay HK$27 million for its site, which at 7,201 sq ft is less than a quarter the size of The Manhattan's.

The joint venture bought The Manhattan site from local company San You Development, which built the high-end Kingsville project next door.

Formosa Group and Global Property Partners, both Hong Kong-based real estate investment funds set up by Tagliere and Kao, originally bought 27 apartments in Kingsville in 2004 for leasing to expats through their company Quadrangle Properties. High returns from that led Tagliere and Kao into their deal with Citigroup and San You to take over the freehold site that had been intended for Kingsville's second phase.

@:
Posted at 09/3/2006 06:34 by energyi
The Macao Special Administrative Region is comprised of the Macao Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane. It is located on the southeast coast of Mainland China, at the west of the Pearl River Delta, about 60 km to the southwest of Hong Kong. Macao is a trade city that has always had a free market economy, a simple and low tax regime, the status as a free port and an independent tariff region.

Macao – Key Data 2005
Area................... 28.2 sq km
Population............. 488,000
Gross Domestic Product: USD 11.58 billion
Gross Domestic Product per capita USD 24,329
Visitors............... 18.70 million
Export Value..........: USD 2.48 billion
Import Value..........: USD 3.92 billion


More maps:

= = =

The following factors contribute to the fast development of Macau real estae market and investments:

+ #1 casino city in the World with US$ 6+ billions gaming revenue projected for 2006.

+ >10% GDP growth and per capita GDP of US$ 24,300 in 2005 (per statistics and census service).

+ Voted as #1 Asian city with the "Best Economy Potential" for 2005-2006 by fDI (Foreigh Direct Investment) magazine.

+ 500,000 population driving to become the biggest center of gaming, tourims, conventions, entertainments and luxury retail industries in East Asia.

+ 20+ millions visitors with many tourist attactions such as the United Nation's World Heritage Site.

+ 60,000 new jobs being created that attract influx of new immigrants and expatriate professions.

+ US$ 12+ billions investments to build mega convention-casino- hotels: Venetian, Wynn, MGM-Grand, StarWorld, Crown Macau, City of Dream, Shangri-la, Four Seasons, Marriott, Sheraton, InterContinental, Hilton, Regal, Dorsett, Fairmont Raffles etc.

+ 1/3 of average housing price in Hong Kong, high local housing affordability and active re-sales property and rental market.

+ 10 - 20 years mortgage loans for up to 50% appraised values for qualified foreign property investors.

+ 0% local capital gain tax for property sales, plus low corporate and individual income tax rates attractive to business enterprenuers and professional workers.

+ HK$ 1,500,000 in investment and bank reserve in Macau to qualify for investment residency visa, with advantages such as free visa travel to 56+ countries, 12 years free education and medical cares in Macau etc.
. @:

= = = = =
LINKS:
Macau Hub ......... :
Tax Havens ........ :
Start Business Tips :
Macau Links. : : :
Posted at 03/4/2005 11:35 by energyi
Betting on the Strip
Gaming magnate Sheldon Adelson announces plans for a strip in Asia's Las Vegas. Hint: it's big
BY ILYA GARGER/MACAU

Monday, Mar. 21, 2005
With its kilometers of flashing neon and monster casinos that look like billion-dollar monuments to kitsch, the Las Vegas Strip might seem impossibleot to mention inadvisableo replicate. But Sheldon Adelson, the CEO of Las Vegas Sands and the city's richest developer, thinks America's gambling mecca is ripe for cloning. Last week he flew to Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal, to unveil a glittering scale model of the Cotai Strip, a $12-15 billion development modeled on Las Vegas' famed stretch of luxury hotels and gaming dens.



Macau has been undergoing an economic boom since the local government ended a longstanding monopoly and opened the casino business to foreign investors in 2002. But the Cotai Strip takes the boom, and the city's glitz factor, to a whole new level. The first part of the project, slated for completion in 2007, includes Hilton, Marriott, Dorsett, Sheraton, InterContinental, Regal and Four Seasons hotels and casinos in addition to Adelson's own Venetian Macao. Besides more than doubling the number of hotel rooms in the city, the 1.3-km Cotai Strip's initial phase will boost entertainment and business facilities with an arena for concerts and sporting events (including NBA games) and a convention center. By the time the strip is finished in seven to 10 years, it will feature 20 hotels with an average of 3,000 guest rooms each.

Adelson says he's encouraged by the success of his Sands Macao casino opened last May. The Sands is already approaching $1 billion in gambling revenue (compared with an annual take of $450 million at Adelson's Las Vegas flagship, The Venetian) and is expected to break even in the next few months. Adelson is so confident in his vision of a Vegas of the Eastn idea that he says came to him in a dream that he's trademarked the phrase "Asia's Las Vegas." And why, by the way, does Asia need a Las Vegas? Says Adelson: "Because it doesn't have one."

@:

Your Recent History

Delayed Upgrade Clock