Star Cruises Banks on Macau

Star Cruises' 75% owned subsidiary New Orisol Investments has entered into sale and purchase agreements to acquire a 75% interest in Macau Land Investment Corporation, which owns a parcel of land known as No.1 Lago Nam Van, Macau, located on the shores of Nam Van Lake in downtown Macau. Genting International owns the balance of the 25% stake in New Orisol.

Star Cruises has also entered into a services agreement with Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, a holder of a gaming concession granted by the Government of Macau whereby Star will cause its subsidiary to provide certain areas for a casino in the hotel to be built at the above-mentioned premises and provide services to the casino which will be operated by SJM, conditional upon approval by the Government of Macau. SJM will pay the subsidiary a monthly fee for usage of the location for the casino and the provision of the services. Macau Land intends to develop “Resorts World at Macau”, a boutique hotel which includes the Casino on the Premises.

These arrangements are subject to the approval of relevant authorities. On 17 January 2007, the Star Cruises entered into a share placement agreement with Profit Boom Investment, Win Ever Investment, Ms Leong Angela On Kei, Ideal Collection Assets and Mr. Chua Ma Yu respectively to subscribe for 120 million, 40 million, 40 million, 12.5 million, and 42.5 million shares in the company respectively at HK$2.29 per share. In addition, the subscribers also entered into an option agreement respectively to purchase their respective numbers of shares in the company at a premium of HK$0.28 per Option Share. The exercise price of the Option Shares is HK$3.00 per Option Share. The initial share placement will raise HK$655,350,000. Upon conversion of the Option Shares, the company will raise an additional HK$765,000,000.

Commenting on the transactions, the company’s Chairman, President and CEO, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, said, “Macau is the fastest-growing leisure, entertainment and hospitality market in the world. With the presence of so many leading industry players in Macau, it is a further testimony of the need for us to build our strong presence in Macau. This project will complement our various hospitality developments in Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States as we seek to capture and maximize each tourist dollar going into these destinations.

“Star Cruises in leading this development is confident of leveraging Genting Group’s proven experience, expertise and track record, in creating a world-class hospitality project in Macau.”

Mr. William Ng, Executive Director of the company, added, “There is increasing affluence in Asia, and Macau will be a prime beneficiary in this large and growing market. We believe the project when completed in 2009 will further contribute to Macau’s development as a world-class tourist destination.”

Commenting on his investment in Star Cruises today, Dr. Stanley Ho said, “This is a personal investment and has nothing to do with any of my publicly listed companies.” The estimated project cost is HK$4.7 billion, and it will be funded via a combination of debt, equity capital and bank borrowings.

The Genting Group including Star Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line have a global distribution network comprising 450 full-time sales and marketing personnel and 50 sales representatives operating out of 35 worldwide sales offices for the Genting Group. These enterprises reach around 45,000 corporate and travel operators and bring 25 million tourists annually to the resorts and cruise ships within the Genting Group.

Star Cruises owns and operates 21 ships worldwide with 32,300 berths, or the equivalent of 16,000 rooms. Since 1998, the company has added 9 new world-class cruise ships to its fleet and will take delivery of 4 more cruise ships over the next 4 years. These 4 new cruise ships average 135,750 tonnes and will cost HK$7.8 billion each.

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