Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd said in a Thursday filing it has renewed an agreement with its parent Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau SA (STDM) for the latter to provide it various services, including hotel accommodation, promotion work and advertising.
SJM Holdings noted however in its update to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it has “mutually agreed” with a STDM unit on the eventual exit of a New Yaohan-branded open-plan store from the casino operator’s Cotai gaming resort, Grand Lisboa Palace (pictured). The right-of-use agreement between the two parties will be terminated from January 1, 2027.
NYH Gestão de Vendas a Retalho Lda – an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of STDM – will pay nearly HKD31.9 million (US$4.1 million) as consideration for the termination. It will return possession of the New Yaohan space to SJM Resorts within a 60-day period, starting from December 31 this year.
SJM Holdings said once it gets back the space – on the second floor of the property – SJM Resorts would replace the store format with “offerings that better align with evolving consumer preferences”.
The filing added: “This will serve as a catalyst to strengthen Grand Lisboa Palace Resort’s overall competitiveness in the Cotai market.”
Grand Lisboa Palace’s adjusted property earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation for 2025 fell to HKD165 million, from HKD499 million in 2024, the casino group said in its full-year results issued on Thursday.
Nonetheless under the continuing-services deal announced the same day, the STDM parent will provide – under a 12-month arrangement backdated to January 1 – the casino-operating business with certain services. They are: hotel accommodation; hotel management and operation; promotion and advertising; food and drink; transport; maintenance of premises; and laundry services.
The deal sets an annual cap at HKD96.6 million for STDM’s hotel accommodation services for 2026. The 2026 cap for promotional and advertising services – including the issuing of “shopping coupons and vouchers” to the group’s customers – was set at HKD27.3 million, according to the filing.
The cap was determined by factors including “historical consumption” of group-level hotel accommodation and promotional and advertising services; and the “projected number of gaming patrons” in casinos operated by the group, as well as its anticipated business growth, SJM Holdings said.
The casino operator had spent in aggregate HKD49.1 million and HKD49.3 million, in 2023 and 2024, respectively, for STDM hotel services. Such expenditure jumped to HKD63.5 million in 2025.
SJM Holdings also noted that it had spent HKD11.2 million, HKD18.2 million and HKD19.1 million in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively, for STDM’s promotional and advertising services.
Renewed casino-chips deal
STDM is the controlling shareholder of SJM Holdings, owning approximately 54.81 percent of the Hong Kong-listed casino operator’s issued shares.
The casino operator said its board approved new annual caps for 2026 through to 2028 for redemption of STDM gaming chips. Such transaction has been a legacy arrangement between the group and STDM since the previous gaming-concession term in the Macau market, and which was calculated as running from March 28, 2002, to December 31, 2022 said the filing.
The new redemption cap for STDM gaming chips is set at HKD75.8 million, for each of the three years from 2026 to 2028. The annual cap was determined by reference to the approximately HKD75.8 million-worth of STDM chips outstanding and in circulation, said SJM Holdings.
“When the former concession contract was executed, a certain quantity of STDM chips was in circulation in the market. Pursuant to the former concession contract, SJM Resorts was permitted to use the STDM chips provided that SJM Resorts honours the STDM chips presented for payment by patrons and clients,” SJM Holdings said.
It added: “Subsequently, SJM Resorts has secured its own supply of chips and is no longer borrowing any STDM [gaming] chips.”
But “as there are still outstanding STDM chips in circulation, the arrangement under the chips agreement will continue in the existing concession contract,” the casino operator further noted.
