Last week was a busy one for James Packer, Executive Chairman of Australia’s Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL). In his first address as Chairman to the company’s AGM on 26 October, he declared that a big achievement of PBL was its significant repositioning to give a platform for growth in its core businesses of media, entertainment, gaming and on-line. He announced the purchase of a third site in Macau by the joint venture partnership PBL Melco, pointing out that the joint venture has one of only six gaming licences to operate in all of China.

On 25 October Melco announced that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange had reversed an earlier decision and that PBL Melco now had permission to pursue listing on the Nasdaq, subject to Melco shareholder approval. The listing could raise US$1 billion or more if it goes ahead early next year as expected. The site purchased for the third Macau casino, to be known as Trinity, is smaller than that of the City of Dreams. Unconfirmed reports say the cost of the land was US$260 million and that the waterfront tower development will have 200 gaming tables and 300 poker machines.

James Packer will be back in Macau in November to attend the ‘topping out’ ceremony for PBL Melco’s first casino complex, Crown Macau on Taipa Island. The US$300 million development will be outshone by the joint venture’s second project, the US$1.5 billion City of Dreams with four hotels scheduled to open before the end of 2008. This month an agreement has been reached for construction company Leighton to build City of Dreams with its underwater theme.

In September gambling revenue in Macau surpassed that of Las Vegas, having risen 37% to US$576 million. The US$1.5 billion Wynn Macau opened to acclaim last month. This year Macau is expected to generate higher gambling revenue than Las Vegas for the first time. Relaxed regulations on travel for Chinese citizens have fuelled the recent gambling boom, but over the longer term it will be Macau’s success at marketing itself as a resort destination and business convention centre that will decide whether the thousands of hotel rooms and casino games will become a sustainable source of revenue for the operators. (E-10.30.06)

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