GGRAsia – Melco Intl awards Lawrence Ho US$3.8mln share options

Melco Intl awards Lawrence Ho US$3.8mln share options

Apr 11, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Philippines, Top of the deck

Lawrence Ho Yau Lung (pictured in a file photo), chairman and chief executive of casino investor Melco International Development Ltd, has been awarded share options in the company at an aggregate exercise price value of HKD29.85 million (US$3.8 million).

The price of the company’s Hong Kong-listed stock has dropped by almost one fifth over the past 12 months, according to Bloomberg data.

The 1.5 million share options awarded to Mr Ho have an exercise price of HKD19.90, according to a Wednesday filing. The market price of Melco International shares closed on Wednesday at HKD19.90, up 0.7 percent on the day, according to Bloomberg.

Seven other directors of the firm have between them been awarded a total of 1.07 million shares under option. Options on a further 542,000 shares have been granted to individuals not named in the filing.

The whole exercise involves 3,113,000 share options to “directors and certain employees of the group”, Melco International said.

Profits at Melco International increased by 10.2 percent in 2018, to nearly HKD522.6 million, the company said in a filing in late March.

Melco International is the parent of Macau and Philippines casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, which saw the launch of its US$1.1-billion Morpheus hotel tower at City of Dreams Macau in June 2018. Melco Resorts reported in February its fourth-quarter and full-year results, and announced more details about the revamp of the group’s Macau properties.

Melco International also runs in its own right a temporary casino and two satellite venues in the Republic of Cyprus, prior to the launch of a major new venue there under a monopoly licence.

The Melco brand is also a suitor for a Japan casino licence after legalisation of such business by that country’s lawmakers last year.