Completing Singapore casino number one priority: Sands
Time is GMT + 8 hours Posted: 12-Nov-2008 00:07 hrs
A model plan of Marina Bay Sands displayed at the groundbreaking ceremony in Singapore in 2007. Completion of a casino project in Singapore remains the top priority of US gaming giant Las Vegas Sands, the firm's chairman said Tuesday while announcing a halt to some developments in Macau.
Completion of a casino project in Singapore remains the top priority of US gaming giant Las Vegas Sands, the firm's chairman said Tuesday while announcing a halt to some developments in Macau.
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"Completing and opening Marina Bay Sands is the number one priority for our company," Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
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The Marina Bay Sands development is scheduled to open in Singapore by the end of next year.
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"As part of my visit to Singapore last week, I assured the government we were very committed to the success of Marina Bay Sands and would have the funding necessary to complete this development. That is exactly where we stand today," he said.
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Last Friday Adelson affirmed the company's commitment to its Singapore casino after a filing with US regulators sparked doubts about its financial health.
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Las Vegas Sands' US-listed share price has plummeted from 148 dollars last October to around eight dollars this month on worries about its debt burden. But the company said it was "in the process of" raising an additional two billion US dollars in funding commitments.
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Las Vegas Sands also said Tuesday it was halting part of its huge development in the southern Chinese gambling haven of Macau due to trouble accessing credit during the global financial crisis.
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The firm, which operates two casinos in Macau including the giant Venetian, said that work on parts of a 12-billion-dollar resort and casino development on a reclaimed strip of land -- called the Cotai Strip -- would be stopped.
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It said it would continue to seek financing that would allow it to complete the project, which includes an 1,800-room Sheraton hotel and three casinos.
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- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story - — AFP
