Cape Verde government in talks to return Macau Legend license

The government in the island nation of Cape Verde said it was in talks with Hong Kong-listed casino services company Macau Legend Development Limited to withdraw the latter concession on the development and operation of casino resorts in the West African country.

Olavo Correia, Cape Verde’s deputy prime minister and minister of finance and business promotion, told local broadcaster RTC over the weekend that the two sides were negotiating on the issue.

He added that the government’s goal is to reach it in two months. It is a “friendly agreement” with Macau Legend to cancel the concession agreement.

“If we reach an amicable agreement – but this cannot be negotiated indefinitely, and there is a reasonable period for this to happen – or if it is not possible [to deal with matters] in a friendly way, unfortunately, we will have to resort to other methods that are set out in law, because [Macao Legend] clearly does not comply with its contractual obligations,” Mr Correia said.

Macau Legend announced in 2015 that it had signed several contracts with the Cape Verde government to develop a casino resort. At the time, the company said it planned to invest around 250 million euros ($269.6 million at the current exchange rate) in casino plans (the artist’s rendering photo).

The company officially began building a casino resort in 2016, but the project has since suffered from delays. Local media reports said construction work had been halted for a long time. Macau Legends did not comment on the status of the project in its latest annual report, released in April.

Mr Correia told RTC that the Cape Verde government was aiming to find new investors for casino resort projects

“We already have several [stakeholders],” he said, “and we will select the best partners to provide us with financial, management and project execution guarantees so that [projects] are not delayed further.”

Separately, Macau Legends has been trying to divest itself of its Lao casino resort business. The Saban Legend resort was announced for sale in June 2023, but the deal has since been delayed several times.

In a December filing, Macau Legends said its entire stake in Saban Legends would be sold at “initial considerations” of US$39 million. The group said at the time it expected a pre-tax profit on the disposal to be about HK$47 million (US$6 million).

If the disposition materializes, it is expected to help strengthen Macau Legends’ cash flow and funding resources for its Macau business, the company said in a previous filing.

Macao Legend posted a net loss of HK$4.9 million in 2023, according to its full-year results filed on March 28.

Macau Legends owns a tourist complex called Macau Fisherman’s Pier, a waterfront area close to the Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal on the Macau Peninsula.

BY: 온라인경마사이트

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