Melco group readies new fund source

The Melco Crown group of Macau is preparing a back-up credit facility worth as much as $340 million for its Philippine gaming unit, in case a previously announced private debt offering isn’t completed as intended by January next year.

The locally listed gaming unit, Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corp. (MCP), the SM group’s partner in developing a $1.3-billion integrated entertainment and gambling complex called “City of Dreams Manila” at Pagcor Entertainment City, earlier announced that it was raising P15 billion through a private offering coursed through subsidiary MCE Leisure (Philippines) Corp.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, MCP said its controlling shareholder, MCE (Philippines) Investments Ltd., had committed to provide such a $340-million term loan facility to itself and to MCE Leisure.

MCP, together with Belle Corp. and Premium Leisure Amusement Inc., holds a provisional license from state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Previously called the “Belle Grande” project prior to the entry of the Melco group, the Melco-SM consortium has upgraded capital spending on the gaming project to strengthen the bid to attract gaming patrons from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.  Doris C. Dumlao