Studio City (Macao)

Studio City Macau is Asia's first leisure resort to integrate television and film production facilities, retail, gaming and hotels. It is jointly developed by U.S. investment firms Silver Point Capital LP and Oaktree Capital Management LLC and a Hong Kong entertainment company, eSun Holdings Ltd. In June 2011, Melco Entertainment took over a 60% share of the property developer. Construction on the new resort may resume in 2012 and it may open in 2015.

History

The US$2 billion project is being built on Macau's Cotai Strip and is expected to open sometime in 2015.^[1] But the Hong Kong and U.S. investors have been locked in three years of bitter disputes, meaning the six-million-square-foot development remains a vacant patch of land and a big problem for the project's backers.

In an effort to end the dispute, meetings took place in London, Hong Kong and the private office of Macau's then-chief executive. Finally, eSun late in 2009 sued Mr. Friedman's consortium in Hong Kong courts. The case is still pending.^[2]

There are four hotels planned at the site:

• Ritz-Carlton
• W Hotel
• Marriott Hotel
• Tang Hotel - run by Shanghai Tang and China Club.

Taubman Centers

Taubman Centers was acquiring a 25 percent interest in The Mall at Studio City, the retail component of Macao Studio City, Taubman was to fund an initial cash payment of US$54 million. Taubman's total investment in the project (including the initial payment, allocation of construction debt and additional payments anticipated in years two and five after opening) was expected to be approximately US$200 million.^[3] But in August 2009, Taubman announced that it has pulled out of the project, recovering its 25 percent, US65 million interest in the project's huge shopping mall development, according to www.macaubusiness.com. "Under the established agreement, if the developers, Cyber One, were unable to secure financing within an 18 month period, Taubman would get its 25 percent share back. That's what happened, as the set period expired on August 11," Morgan Parker, Taubman's Asia Pacific region president told www.macaubusiness.com.^[4]

Melco takeover

Gaming operator Melco Crown Entertainment has gained control of the long-delayed Macao Studio City project, after buying a 60 percent share in the Cotai resort developer. Melco announced the deal on 16 June 2011 morning and co-chairman Lawrence Ho Yau Lung said at a press conference it would invest USD 1.7 billion (MOP 13.7 billion) in the development. Construction on the new resort may resume in 2012 and it may open in 2015, Ho added. "Significant pilling and groundwork is already done," he said.

He said Macao Studio City was on the best site in Cotai, due to its proximity to the Lotus Bridge and a future stop of the Light Rapid Transit (LRT). The original vision of a movie-themed resort is "a fantastic concept" and "very popular with Asian visitors," the businessman said. The resort will include "a self-branded luxury hotel" with 1,200 rooms when it opens and a maximum of 2,000 rooms. It will also have 290,000 square feet (27,000 m²) of leasable retail area.

But entertainment "will be the core" of Macao Studio City, Ho said. The highlight will be a multi-purpose entertainment studio with anything from concerts of Cantopop stars to fights, he added.^[5]

On 12 January 2015, Melco chairman announced that the Studio City resort will open in “mid-year” 2015, adding 1,600 hotel rooms and an intended 400 gambling tables to the Cotai Strip. Inspired by Hollywood, the cinematic-themed resort will comprise a 30,000-square-foot Family Entertainment Center in collaboration with Time Warner Inc. subsidiaries Warner Bros and DC Comics. Highlighted in the unveiling ceremony, the entertainment center is said to feature popular DC Comics characters, such as Superman, Wonder Woman and The Flash. Visitors will be taken on a virtual reality Batman ride in the resort, as well as a 130-meter-tall Ferris wheel.^[6]

Gaming facility dispute

Macau's Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io confirmed on 6 July 2011 that there will be no gaming facility in the Macao Studio City project. The secretary reiterated that the developer of this Cotai property is required to adhere to the 2008 development plan approved by the government. The plan, he reaffirmed, includes a major component of a film production facility but doesn't contain any gaming elements.^[7] But Melco Crown Entertainment is confident the Macao Studio City will receive the necessary government approvals to include a gaming floor. The company’s chief executive and co-chairman Lawrence Ho Yau Lung said he was confident of striking a deal with the SAR Government to build a casino on the site.^[8]

Footnotes

External links

• Studio City Macau official website
• Macao Studio City website
• Macao Studio City pictures and information

Coordinates: 22°08′28″N 113°33′39″E / 22.141143°N 113.560696°E / 22.141143; 113.560696