Las Vegas Sands secures US$2b capital funding, remains committed to S'pore project
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 11 November 2008 1349 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Las Vegas Sands said Tuesday it has secured over US$2 billion in capital funding commitments to avoid violating loan agreements.

President and Chief Operating Officer William Weidner said in a conference call that Sands expects to close the transaction by the end of the week.

He continued to say that there will be some changes to Sands' overseas resort developments. It will stop construction work at two sites in Macau's Cotai Strip, pending project financing arrangements.

Mr Weidner said Sands hopes to have an agreement with a major Chinese bank within the next three to six months.

Sands will also suspend the building of its St Regis Residence luxury-condominium project in Las Vegas indefinitely.

The operator said it expects to save US$1.8 billion by delaying and curbing plans for those projects.

However, Sands said it remains committed to its Marina Bay Sands project in Singapore, and expects to open the resort by late 2009, according to plan.

Sands said it expects a significant return on capital from the Marina Bay Sands resort project. It added that the current capital market conditions will not significantly impact the integrated resort development in Singapore.

Sands also released its third quarter financial results overnight. It narrowed its net loss to US$32.2 million, compared with US$48.5 million a year ago.

Sands said this is due to increases in operating income and an income tax gain. Revenue increased by two-thirds to US$1.1 billion.

- CNA/yb