MACAO: Hong Kong-listed leisure and entertainment firm Melco International plans to invest up to 90 million pataca in more low-end gaming lounges of Macao this year, Managing Director Lawrence Ho said yesterday.

At the opening ceremony of the company's fourth Mocha TPS gambling gallery in a three-star hotel in the busy Taipa district, Ho said Melco would open another two or three such lounges this year, especially in or near budget hotels in which most mainland tourists put up during their visit. Each of these facilities will cost about 20-30 million pataca.

Melco now has four Mocha TPS lounges with 700 slot machines in all, accounting for about 30 per cent of Macao's total. Those lounges made HK$47.7 million in profits from June to December last year, with the daily average revenue per machine reaching HK$1,871 last December.

Ho said there was no immediate need for more capital input, but it will be needed if its bid for a gambling licence in Singapore proves successful. Building a casino in the island-state could cost Melco International about HK$150 million, he said. The company has entered the second round bidding process recently.

(HK Edition 04/30/2005 page3)