Daisy Ho Chiu Fung (pictured in a file photo), chairman of Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd, has purchased US$3-million in aggregate of the group’s recently-offered US$540-million senior unsecured notes. That is according to disclosure records filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The notes – issued by a wholly-owned subsidiary, SJM International Ltd – carry a yearly interest rate of 6.500 percent, and mature in January 2031. The notes are freely transferable but not convertible into shares of SJM International, or any other corporation, the disclosure records noted.
Ms Ho’s purchases of the senior unsecured notes were made in three transactions, respectively on March 6, March 9, and March 10.
The US$540-million senior unsecured notes were intended to “extend the maturity profile of the group’s indebtedness and enhance the group’s financial flexibility”, SJM Holdings stated in January when it first announced the offering.
Proceeds of that issuance would assist the group’s refinancing – including repurchase for cash – of its outstanding 4.500-percent senior notes due on January 27 this year, the casino operator mentioned previously.
As of December-end 2025, SJM Holdings’ net debt increased circa 12 percent year-on-year to HKD27.2 billion (US$3.5 billion).
Such increase could be attributed to “SJM’s acquisitions” of certain assets including a casino hotel that was formerly a satellite property, “and to “capex [capital expenditure]”, as well as “weaker” operating cash flow amid a decline in profitability. So suggested Singapore-based specialist in credit research, Lucror Analytics, in a recent memo.
The research firm noted that notwithstanding “weak” fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, SJM Holdings “has improved” its liquidity following the refinancing of U.S. dollar notes in January this year.
