Amax International Holdings Limited (HKEx:959), a stakeholder in Taipa, Macau’s shuttered Greek Mythology Casino at the Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel, has posted a HK$18.287 million loss for the six month period ending September 30, 2016.
Amax holds 24.8% equity interests in Greek Mythology (Macau) Entertainment Group Corporation Limited (“Greek Mythology”) at the former New Century Hotel. The casino closed without explanation on December 31, 2015 and the hotel closed due to safety violations on July 23.
In a July filing with the Hong Kong Stock exchange, Amax stated that the hotel’s closure would not affect the casino operations as a matter of law and that the company hoped to resolve any issues and re-open by 2017 Q1. However, in August Amax stated that, “The company has yet to obtain 2015 and 2016 management accounts from Greek Mythology,” and, “The company has been advised by its Macau lawyer to take further legal action against Greek Mythology and its management.”
Greek Mythology Casino operates under a third-party license with Sociedade De Jogos De Macau. Macau’s casino regulator, the DICJ, still lists the license as under “suspension/suspensão”.
On March 18, 2016, and September 15, 2016, Amax issued a writ of summons in the Court of First Instance of the High Court of Hong Kong for claims against note holders in Greek Mythology.
Amax Int’l reported revenue of approximately HK$4.11 million for the six month period compared to approximately HK$3.99 million for the same period a year previous. The company noted a loss of commission income formerly derived from the Guangxi Welfare Lottery Issue Centre after the disposal of Le Rainbow Worldwide Limited and its subsidiaries. This loss was largely made up for with revenue derived from their gaming business in the Republic of Vanuatu.
“The gaming business in Vanuatu has been making solid contributions to the Group since it commenced operation in July 2016,” Amax stated in the filing.
Amax took a 60% stake in Forenzia Enterprises Limited in July. Forenzia owns the Vanuatu gaming license which generated gross revenue of HK$1.7 million between July and September 2016, according to the filing.
Net loss for the Period under Review was approximately HK$18.29 million as compared to a net loss of approximately HK$17.69 million for the corresponding period last year.