Ist schon bei Party machen...:-))
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By Sui-Lee Wee
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Wynn Macau's (1128.HK) strong debut in Hong Kong on Friday shows appetite for gambling stocks remains strong despite high valuations, boding well for a listing by rival Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N) later this year.
Wynn Macau's shares jumped about 9 percent in their first hours of trade, defying gloomy forecasts the stock would be flat to down slightly, given its relatively high IPO price. Wynn shares traded at about HK$11 in their first two hours, versus an IPO price of HK$10.08.
"For big-cap IPOs, its performance is pretty good. Its pricing is not cheap but Macau's gaming revenue has been rising and that helped boost confidence," said Peter Pak, vice-president at BOCI Research.
Wynn Macau's $1.63 billion IPO, the world's sixth-largest so far this year, could speed up the expected listing for Las Vegas Sands, which plans to raise up to $2 billion in a Hong Kong offering for its Asia assets, most notably in Macau.
Macau, a special administrative region that is now under Chinese rule, is the world's biggest gambling market and the only place in China where gambling is legal.
Gambling revenues in the former Portuguese enclave hit a new monthly high of $1.4 billion in August, a faster-than-expected recovery than compared with Las Vegas and are expected to be stronger in September with an easing of restrictions by China on its citizens traveling from Guangdong province to Macau.
Wynn, which had a 16.4 percent market share of Macau in 2008, is one of a handful of gambling "pure plays" in Macau, alongside Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL.O), Galaxy Entertainment Group (0027.HK) and SJM Holdings (0880.HK).
The listing by the Asia unit of Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O) marked a major win for Hong Kong's stock market, as it netted its first IPO for a big global brand in years.
"Wynn is a known name compared with other recent IPOs that many people have not heard about, so it's probably easier to sell," said Nicholas Yeo, head of China and Hong Kong equities at Aberdeen Asset Management.
Yeo said Wynn's strong debut would be positive for Sands.
"Maybe if Las Vegas Sands was to list tomorrow it could get a good price, but if it's sometime in the future, who knows?" he said. "Markets are uncertain."
The Wynn Macau offering comes at a time when the global IPO market is heating up, encouraged by a rebound in stock markets worldwide. Santander Brasil (SANB11.SA) (BSBR.N) and Verisk Analytics (VRSK.O) raised nearly $10 billion between them on Tuesday.
MACAU JACKPOT
At the Hong Kong stock exchange, a small crowd of bankers and Wynn executives toasted one another with champagne and chatted excitedly on their cellphones to congratulate investors and other contacts shortly after the low-key ceremony.
"We want long-term holders, we want investors to stay with us," said Allan Zeman, a director at Wynn Resorts. "And those people who want to flip on opening day ... they are entitled to but they are better off to go to Macau and play in the casinos."
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/...20091009?symbol=1128.HK
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