MGM Macau casino raises $1.4 billion in Hong Kong IPO

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/jun/03/mgm-macau-casino-raises-14-billion-hong-kong-ipo/

A Macau casino joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Pansy Ho, the daughter of gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, has raised about 11.1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.4 billion) in net proceeds from an initial public offering on Hong Kong's stock exchange.

MGM China Holdings Ltd.'s IPO of 760 million shares was priced at the top end of its range of 12.36 Hong Kong dollars to 15.34 Hong Kong dollars.

As part of the IPO, MGM China became owner of MGM Grand Paradise SA, the Macau company that owns the MGM Grand Macau resort and casino and the related gaming sub-concession.

Grand Paradise Macau Ltd., an affiliate of Pansy Ho, is giving the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 114 million shares to cover any excess demand. Her father Stanley Ho is a modern gambling pioneer in China.

MGM China used the offering's net proceeds to pay back a previously issued acquisition note to Grand Paradise Macau as part of the reorganization of its shareholding structure.

In April, MGM Resorts reached a deal with Pansy Ho that would give it 51 percent ownership and management control of MGM China Holdings once it went public. Pansy Ho would have a 29 percent stake and other shareholders would own a 20 percent stake. It was previously split 50-50.

MGM's casino is one of 34 in Macau, a special administrative region of China and the only place in the country where casino gambling is legal. The company is hoping to capture growing investor interest in Macau gambling companies, which have helped the economy boom since a four-decade casino monopoly was broken up in 2002.

The former Portuguese colony is now the world's top gambling market.

MGM's Macau casino and hotel resort opened in December 2007 and has 1,006 slot machines and 427 gaming tables.

Pansy Ho is co-chair of MGM China with Jim Murren, who is CEO of MGM Resorts. Murren said MGM Resorts will record a "significant gain" in the second quarter because of the IPO's completion and related transactions.

MGM Resorts International stock fell 50 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $14.26 in morning trading Friday.

Share

Economic index’s rise could signal Las Vegas job growth

Sam Morris

Tourists walk along the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, April 28, 2011.Economic index’s rise could signal Las Vegas job growthBy Buck Wargo

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/jun/03/economic-indexs-rise-could-signal-las-vegas-job-gr/

Friday 3 June 2011 1:38 p.m.

As fears are stoked about the U.S. economic recovery, a UNLV index released today shows Southern Nevada could be adding jobs by the end of the year.

The Southern Nevada Index of Leading Economic Indicators in May rose 0.52 percent. Most gains were in visitor volume, passenger counts and taxable sales, according to UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research.

A rising index is considered a signal for job growth in the coming months.

“If the economies of the Western states improve, spending on travel and tourism could continue contributing to the economic growth in Southern Nevada,” said Bob Potts, the center’s assistant director.

But it’s too soon to put too much stock in the index that rose sharply in March and declined in April. In addition, the national economy that drives Las Vegas tourism is weakening, and some economists fear high gasoline prices and falling home prices nationwide will stall the recovery or may even lead to a double-dip recession.

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent in May after the nation added only 54,000 jobs.

Nevada’s jobless rate dropped for the fourth straight month to 12.5 percent in April. Las Vegas’ rate was 12.1 percent.

The report said 3,500 jobs were added statewide in April, down from 11,000 added in March.

The UNLV index, which measures economic activity through March, showed convention attendance up 10.3 percent, visitor volume up 5.6 percent, gross gaming revenue up 7.2 percent, airport passengers up 2.2 percent and taxable sales up 9.5 percent.

Commercial construction was also up but residential construction remained weak.

外资抄底美国楼市

对

于美国房主来说，刚刚搬进你隔壁的邻居，可能是是加拿大人，也可能是中国人。

美国房地产市场正在获得外国买房人的支持，特别是高端房地产市场。如果说美国买房人觉得房价很诱人的话，外国买房人一旦考虑到汇率因素，就觉得是跳楼价了。

Bloomberg News

据全美地产经纪商协会(National Association of Realtors，简称NAR)周三发布的报告，截至2011年3月份的12个月内，外国客户一共在美国楼市投入资金约410亿美元。拥有6个月以上签证的个人花了另外410亿美元。两者相加约等于整个美国楼市的8%。

外国买房人购买高端房产的可能性更大。报告显示，外国买家支付的平均购房价格是31.5万美元，相比之下，整个美国的平均支出是21.8万美元。

国际买房人也更有可能是用现金支付，部分原因在于他们难以从美国获得贷款。报告说，62%的外国买房人全额使用现金。近几个月，约三分之一的二手房销售以全额现金的形式进行。

值得注意的是，越来越多的国际买房人正在进入低端市场。NAR说，最近一年，卖给外国人的房产当中，45%都不到20万美元。这个比例高于2007年的28%。

NAR说，接近80%的经纪商反映，对外房产销售受到了美元汇率的影响。

报告说，当美元对欧元贬值时，它往往也会对其他货币贬值，所以整个美国房产市场对国际买房人的吸引力已经变得越来越大。

据NAR和人口普查局(Census Bureau)数据，截至今年3月份的一年内（已有最新数据），美国新房和二手房价格下降了5%左右。这意味着美国买房人可以享受5%的折扣。

如果从本币的角度来看，多数外国买房人享受的折扣更高。欧洲买房人眼中，美国房价降了8%，中国买房人获得8.6%的折扣，加拿大买房人得到的降价幅度是9.3%。

考虑到其他国家房价已经稳定甚至大幅上涨，美国房产显得更加让人心动。

据全球房地产咨询公司莱坊(Knight Frank LLP)数据，很多亚洲国家和新兴市场国家的房价正在飙升，以至于政府都在努力控制房价膨胀。

按本币计算，2010年一年内，香港房价涨20.1%，拉脱维亚涨16.9%，以色列涨16.2%。

据莱坊测算，美国房价下跌4.1%，2010年下半年跌势加剧。全年全球房价上涨2.8%。

美元贬值将给美国楼市带来多大提振呢？