MGM China up on Cotai project progress

HONG KONG: MGM China Holdings Ltd, a venture between Pansy Ho and MGMResorts International, rose to a seven-week high after the casino operator reported a 38% profit gain and said it is making progress on a new project.

MGMChina rose 5.3% to HK$12.22, the highest level since June 20, at the close in Hong Kong trading. The city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.04%.

The casino operator relies on a single property, the MGM Grand on the Macau peninsula, as it plans its US$2.5bil Cotai project.

MGM China was “hopeful” of government approval for a land concession it needed to build the planned casino, spokeswoman Sidney Luk said yesterday in an email.

“A dialogue with the Macau government has been positive and is proceeding at an encouraging pace,” MGM China chief executive officer Grant Bowie said in a conference call on Tuesday.

Sands China Ltd and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd are also expanding facilities that combine hotels and casinos to draw so-called mass-market gamblers, who provide wider margins, to the increasingly popular Cotai Strip.

MGM China had submitted an application for the land preparation work and was “working to have our general contractor on board in the fourth quarter”, Bowie said.

First-half net income rose 38% to HK$2.63bil (US$339mil) from HK$1.91bil a year earlier, the company said on Tuesday. Casino revenue increased to HK$10.8bil from HK$9.71bil, it said. — Bloomberg