The Chairman and Executive Director of SJM Holdings, Daisy Ho, said Thursday she is confident the company will complete refinancing of a syndicated loan facility within the current quarter as it looks to boost liquidity.
SJM’s financial position has been the topic of much discussion in recent months, with analysts noting that it has significantly less liquidity than its fellow Macau concessionaires. Investment bank Morgan Stanley said earlier this week that SJM had only five months’ worth of liquidity available compared with more than two years for its peers, although the company did recently receive government approval for debt refinancing, which had been pending for more than 12 months.
SJM had earlier this year extended the maturity of its loans by 12 months – comprising a HK$15 billion term loan and HK$10 billion revolving credit facility – however, speaking with media at an event at Grand Lisboa Palace on Thursday, Ho said she was confident that refinancing would be completed soon.
“I am very grateful for the support of the parent company (STDM, which previously pledged a HK$5 billion loan), but I hope that SJM will use its own ability to do the financing,” Ho said.
“We are all working together with the banks in the syndicate through the details and we hope to come to an agreement in the coming weeks.”
Ho was also asked about plans for the opening of additional facilities at the company’s Cotai integrated resort, Grand Lisboa Palace, including Palazzo Versace Hotel, but said there were no definitive plans in place just yet.
“The opening will depend on the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to keep an eye on visitation before we decide when will be the appropriate time to open.”
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