Macau’s Louis XIII shifts language on launch date

Jul 09, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Hong Kong-listed Louis XIII Holdings Ltd has modified slightly the language it is using to talk about an opening date for its under-construction Macau casino hotel Louis XIII (pictured).

In its annual report for 2015, filed on Thursday, the firm referred to “when it opens in mid-2016”. At a Daiwa Securities Group Inc investor conference in April, the company mentioned the specific date of July 1, 2016, adding that would be possible because construction was slightly ahead of schedule.

Under share options granted in July 2013 to eight directors of the firm, the second tranche will vest when the project is topped out, with the third tranche vesting once the hotel opens, said the annual report.

The share option scheme entitles each of the named directors to subscribe for shares of the company at an exercise price of HKD6.80 (US$0.877) per share. Louis XIII Holdings’ stock closed at HKD2.63 per unit in Hong Kong trading on Thursday, although that was a gain of 7.35 percent on the day, following Wednesday’s general rout of China-related shares.

The annual report also confirmed that L’Ambroisie, a restaurant in Paris that has held three Michelin stars since 1988, would open its only other property in the Louis XIII hotel complex.

“With only approximately 38 seats, the critically acclaimed Paris restaurant is one of the most sought after reservations in the world,” said the casino hotel’s developer in its latest filing.

Louis XIII – described in November 2014 as a US$1.1-billion project – plans to charge as much as HKD1 million per night for its most luxurious accommodation, said a note on June 26 from Japanese brokerage Nomura.

Louis XIII Holdings has not so far disclosed which of Macau’s six gaming concession holders will supply the gaming licence for the property.

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