Macau gaming operator SJM Holdings (SJMH) has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Champion Moments Limited has successfully issued senior notes in the Macau bond market in the amounts of HK$1.25 billion and 300 million patacas, guaranteed by SJMH.
The company incorporated in Hong Kong announced the deal in a statement dated May 16.
According to the statement, the senior notes, which bear interest at 3.90 percent and have their final maturity in 2026, were sold to professional investors, and are being listed on Chongwa (Macao) Financial Asset Exchange (MOX).
The dual issue was led by the Macau branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Macau branch of Bank of China (BOC) and BNP Paribas as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, and Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU), Macau branch of Bank of Communications (BOCOM), Macau branch of China Construction Bank Corporation (CCBC) and Bank of East Asia (BEA) as joint bookrunners, according to the statement.
"The dual issue marks the first time that a major tourism business in Macau has issued debt instruments for listing on MOX," the statement said, adding that the proceeds of the senior notes are being used to refund existing debt and for general corporate purposes of the SJM Group.
The statement quoted SJMH Chief Financial Officer Benjamin Toh Hup Hock as saying: “We are very pleased with the outcome of this financing, which was well received and enabled us to tap the market of local professional investors while raising funds at attractive terms.”
SJMH Chairwoman and Executive Director Daisy Ho Chiu Fung was quoted as saying: “The success of our pioneering issue demonstrates that non-financial companies with operations in Macau can raise notes and bonds in the Macau market. We are very appreciative of the commitment that the Macau authorities have made to this new financial market, and we are pleased to support its role in the development of Macau’s modern financial system and the moderate diversification of the economy.”
SJMH's subsidiary Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) is one of Macau's six gaming operators. SJM owns 22 of Macau's 41 casinos. The operations of four of SJM's casinos are currently suspended, according to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).
Meanwhile, the statement also said that SJM's latest property, Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai, is "undergoing final inspections".
Grand Lisboa Palace comprises 1,900 guestrooms and suites in three hotel towers - Grand Lisboa Palace Macau, Palazzo Versace Macau and THE KARL LAGERFELD - as well as facilities for meetings and conferences, shopping, dining, gaming, and entertainment, the statement said.
