Harrah’s offers share sale in bid to build first Singapore casino

Linus Chua

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004 | 11:19 a.m.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. offered to sell shares in Singapore's first casino project should the company beat rivals including MGM Mirage for the concession, Chief Financial Officer Charles Atwood said.

Harrah's, which is buying Caesars Entertainment Inc. to become the largest U.S. casino company, and its partners would keep a controlling stake in the casino, Atwood said yesterday in Singapore on a three-day visit to meet potential partners.

"As soon as we think that the shares are marketable, we'll try to list them" on the Singapore Exchange, Atwood said. He declined to say how much Harrah's would raise through the share sale, and said the $1 billion to $2 billion estimate by analysts for the project is "reasonable."

Harrah's, Las Vegas Sands Inc. and Macau's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau are among gaming companies that have expressed interest in running gambling concessions in Singapore. A share sale in the project would give investors a stake in the island-state's first legal gambling house since its independence four decades ago as the government tries to lure more tourists and business travelers.

"Anything will draw interest provided it is of decent quality and at a decent price," said Hugh Young, who helps oversee $10 billion in Asian bonds and equities at Aberdeen Asset Management in Singapore.

Singapore's government has still not said whether it will proceed with the development, partly because of concerns among members of the public that a casino could lead to a rise in gambling addiction, loan sharking and prostitution.

The operator will point to the programs it uses to address social issues in making its case to the Singapore government, Atwood said. Harrah's is the only U.S. casino operator that has a "multi-million dollar" ad campaign targeted at problem gamblers, he said.

The share sale plan will also be part of its pitch.

A sale "helps serve the desire of the Singapore government to increase the transparency of the operators which are coming here," Jonathan Galaviz, a partner at Galaviz Ong & Co. in Las Vegas, which tracks the global gaming market, said in Singapore.