This week, it was announced that Amax International Holdings Ltd (HKEx:959) has decided to sell their interest in a business that used to operate the Macau-based, Greek Mythology Casino. The casino has been shut down for several years as two former business partners continue to disagree about the venue. The Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel, where the casino is located, closed temporarily in the summer of 2016 and then had a lapse take place regarding their operating license based on compliance issues with the government standards of Macau.
Selling Stake:
With a Sunday filing, Amax International announced that they had sold the Greek Mythology (Macau) Entertainment Group Corp Ltd stake of 24.8%. The stake was sold to Fu Po International Ltd., a property investment and consultancy firm registered in Macau.
In the filing, Amax stated that the sale involved an impairment of HKD353.6m which is equivalent to $45.1m USD. This amount was in relation to their interest in Greek Mythology (Macau). The move was partially due to a lack of progress in receiving audited financial statements as well as other information that was necessary for audit purpose from the entity and the applying of a court order.
According to ggrasia.com…
Back in May, Amax stated that a report in Ming Pao Daily was not true, involving the Beijing Imperial Palace. In the report, it was stated that interests associated with the boss of junket investor Suncity Group, Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, had taken over control of the venue. The takeover was reportedly due to incurred debt.
Several Disputes:
The Casino Greek Mythology along with the Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel have been subjected to several disputes in the past. Included in the mix were issues between the Amax chairman and chief executive, Ng Man Sun and Chen Mei Huan, Sun’s former domestic partner.
In the filing, Amax made sure to point out that the mentioned impairments are one-off and non-cash in nature and are not in any way impacting the cash flow of the group or their current business operations.