MGM, Pansy Ho hope second Cotai casino plans will aid listing in HK

MGM Resorts International and partner Pansy Ho Chiu-king are betting plans for a second Macau casino on the Cotai strip will boost their prospects for listing on the Hong Kong stock market later this year.

'We're obviously very interested and have been very committed to expanding our footprint in Macau with another property over time,' MGM chairman Jim Murren said on a conference call this week. 'That certainly would benefit an IPO of Macau,' he said.

MGM, formerly MGM Mirage, and Ho, daughter of gaming magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun, have long been planning to raise funds via a Hong Kong share sale and recent moves suggest the process is well under way.

Earlier this week their 50-50 joint venture, MGM Grand Paradise, successfully raised US$950 million in debt financing to pay off existing debt and provide additional liquidity.

The partners have been in talks with the Macau government for rights to develop a site on Cotai since at least March 2007, well before the opening in December that year of their debut property on the Macau peninsula, the US$1.25 billion MGM Macau (formerly the MGM Grand Macau).

The MGM Macau struggled in its first year in business but profitability has since improved with the growth of the overall market and a ramp-up of the casino's VIP business.