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Hitting the jackpot: the brand new Grand Lisboa |
"Ive flown from Hong Kong to Las Vegas more times than I care to remember in the past 12 months," says the head of capital markets at one of Asias leading investment banks. "But its been worth every air mile."
Its no wonder the banker is jet-lagged but happy. Local subsidiaries of international casino operators have accounted for the largest loan and two of the biggest IPOs in Asia, Macaus gaming industry has grown to three times the size of Las Vegass, and the conference and exhibition business has bucked global trends to record modest revenue growth.
In October, Wynn Resorts completed a $1.87 billion IPO in Hong Kong of 27% of its Macau property, nearly doubling its initial target of $1 billion thanks to strong investor demand. Las Vegas Sands,...