Lisboa Palace opening delayed again

Monday 29th of July 2019

SJM Holdings has pushed back the completion date of its Grand Lisboa Palace resort on Cotai again, this time until about March next year, according to media reports.

The actual opening is likely to be still later in the year.

The casino operator SJM’s first foray into Cotai, has been beset by delays for years. It was previously expected to open its doors to the public later this year, or early 2020.

The reports said there it is unclear as to the cause of the latest delay.

Stock in the company dropped more than 5 percent in Hong Kong trading on Friday after Bloomberg reported it was seeking a loan waiver to extend completion and opening dates. It lost a further 2.8 percent on Monday.

SJM is now the only one of the concessionaires without a property on the Cotai Strip and is expected to continue to lose market share to its rivals until the Grand Lisboa Palace opens.

Some analysts had already predicted that SJM would push back the opening. Bernstein Research wrote in a note in May that they didn’t expect the doors to be opened until summer of 2020 and even then, they are skeptical the resort will help it gain market share.

“Over the past five years, SJM’s market share has fallen from over 23 percent to a historic low of 14 percent. SJM has very limited presence in the critically important Premium Mass segment and GLP will not be the panacea to cure that ill,” it said.

The $4 billion resort will feature 1,900 guest rooms and suites in the Grand Lisboa Palace Hotel, Palazzo Versace Macau and Karl Lagerfeld Hotel. Other features will include a Wedding Pavilion for celebrations and events, a multi-purpose hall and entertainment and leisure facilities.