FILE PHOTO: A logo of Macau’s Suncity Group is seen at a gaming fair in Macau, China November 18, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo
December 9, 2021
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Trading in shares of Macau’s Suncity Group Holdings Ltd and its unit Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd were suspended on Thursday, days after its chief executive was arrested over alleged links to cross-border gambling.
The Hong Kong stock exchange gave no further details on the suspension.
It comes after embattled junket giant Suncity, which is separate to the listed entity and also operated by the parent group’s chief executive, Alvin Chau, closed all of its VIP gambling rooms in Macau after Chau was arrested.
Chau’s junket operations are estimated to have accounted for a quarter of Macau’s gambling revenue.
The closure of Chau’s gaming rooms is expected to exacerbate pain for casino operators in the gambling hub and would lead to closures in other areas of the group such as restaurants, bars and hotels.
Meanwhile, Macau’s gaming regulator has ordered junket operators in the former Portuguese colony to stop offering credit to customers, according to brokerage firm Bernstein.
Separately, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified sources, that Wynn and Melco would close their junket rooms by Dec. 20 and Dec. 21.
(Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)
Source: One America News Network
