A court case had delayed the initial public offering in Hong Kong of Stanley Ho’s Macau gaming company Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM). The IPO had been scheduled for last April but Winnie Ho Yuen-ki, 7.3% stakeholder in the parent company Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) and Stanley Ho’s estranged sister, had asked the Macau court to issue an injunction stopping it. On Monday the court ruled and the attempt failed, so the SJM listing can now proceed.

SJM, which held a gaming monopoly in Macau until 2002, is facing increasing competition and the IPO is intended to raise HK$15 billion (US$1.9 billion). Stanley Ho, coming in at number 84 on the 2006 Forbes list of the world’s richest, still controls 16 casinos in Macau, including the Lisboa. The new Wynn Macau, scheduled to open on 5 September, is right next to the original Casino Lisboa, which is presently the world’s highest grossing casino and undergoing further extension.

In March this year Ho stepped down as chairman of Hong Kong’s Melco International Development to avoid any conflict of interest after the listing. Melco and joint venture partner PBL of Australia acquired a Macau casino licence and Melco is now chaired by Stanley Ho’s son Lawrence. An STDM shareholders’ meeting that month approved the SJM listing in Hong Kong. It is anticipated that the IPO will now take place in the first half of 2007 and the funds used for ongoing SJM projects that include three new casino complexes. (E-08.02.06)

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