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 Welcome to
the News desk.
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| Virgin bets on Chinese casino |
27/01/2007 |
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Julia
Kollew
Sir Richard Branson's
Virgin Group is planning to build a $3bn (£1.52bn) casino complex in
Macau, China, which recently overtook Las Vegas as the world's biggest gambling
centre.
The Virgin entrepreneur, whose business empire ranges from
airlines to music and mobile phones, is in advanced talks to secure a
20-hectare site in the former Portuguese enclave, the Financial Times reported
today.
"We hope to get all the boxes ticked in the next couple of
months and start developing the site soon afterwards," Sir Richard told the
paper.
The entrepreneur held talks
with Macau's chief executive Edmund Ho on Wednesday to finalise arrangements
for the planned entertainment complex which will feature three hotels and a
casino, the Virgin group's first.
The complex, due to open by 2010, will
cost $3bn to develop and is to be funded at least in part with a mix of Virgin
equity and debt financing from international banks. Virgin hopes to recoup its
upfront costs within 18 months of opening. Sir Richard wants to target a
younger, 20- to 34-year age group, saying "The sector is growing but existing
casinos are light on entertainment. There's little to attract the family crowd
or make it a memorable value-for-money experience." He may opt for a branded
joint-venture arrangement with one of six groups which currently hold rights to
run casinos in Macau.
Two of the world's biggest gaming groups, Las
Vegas Sands Corp and Wynn Resorts, have already built casinos in Macau and
others like MGM Mirage have also set their sights on the territory.
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