[2008.07.05] 澳门博彩业：惨淡经营

Gambling in Macau
赌在澳门

Playing a poor hand
手气太臭

Jul 3rd 2008 | MACAU
From The Economist print edition

An Asian godfather reshuffles
亚洲赌王重新洗牌

AFTER several false starts Stanley Ho, Macau’s erstwhile casino monopolist, at last broke through a logjam of litigation and scepticism this week and took his ailing gambling franchise public, agreeing on July 2nd to sell a 25% stake for some $500m. SJM Holdings, as his company is now known, owns 19 of Macau’s 29 casinos and has the biggest market share, but its lead is tenuous and the deal was not an easy sell. Hong Kong’s new-issuance market is weak after many disastrous offerings this year, and for what Mr Ho wanted to sell-some shabby casinos built to serve what used to be a captive market-it is weaker still.
在很多次不成功的开始之后，何鸿燊–澳门昔日的赌王，在这周最终打破了争讼和怀疑的僵局，在6月2日同意抛售约值5亿美元25%的股份将他疲软病态的特许赌博经营上市。澳门博彩控股有限公司（以下简称澳门博彩），就如同现在大家所知的，拥有澳门29家赌场中的19家赌场，而且占有最大的市场份额，但是它的领先优势却很微弱，而且这场交易并非是容易的。香港新证券发行市场在今年做出许多损失惨重的公开上市之后一直十分虚弱，还有那些何鸿燊在此要卖出的–许多破烂不堪的赌场被建起去充当昔日那些垄断赌场–这显然也是虚弱的。

In 2004 SJM had revenues of HK$34 billion ($4.4 billion), 85% of the total for Macau’s gambling industry. Three years later Macau’s gambling revenues have doubled, but SJM’s have declined. New figures suggest that it may soon lose its leadership to Las Vegas Sands, which owns two giant casinos, the Sands and the Venetian, that are as glittering as SJM’s are grim.
2004年澳门博彩获利340亿港元（44亿美元），占整个澳门赌博业的85%。3年之后，澳门的赌博收益已翻倍，但是澳门博彩利润却下降了。新的数据显示，很可能它不久就会失去对拥有两个大型赌场澳门金沙和澳门威尼斯人度假村酒店的拉斯维加斯金沙娱乐场的领导地位给拉斯维加斯金沙娱乐场，其在澳门博彩形势严峻时却灿烂如故。

A year ago, when a listing of SJM was first being broached, SJM might have expected to be valued at 14 times cashflow, rather than today’s seven times, says Billy Ng, a securities analyst at JPMorgan. Back then the Hong Kong market for public offerings was euphoric and the full impact of the entry of two rival firms from Las Vegas, Wynn and Sands, was not so apparent. Efforts to seize that opportunity, however, were delayed by a deluge of litigation by Mr Ho’s sister, Winnie, who has long feuded with him over the management of the family’s various casino operations. The legal fight postponed a planned listing in January. To allow the deal to proceed this week, investors have been indemnified against any related legal costs.
一年之前当澳门博彩上市的计划首次浮出水面时，澳门博彩曾希望自己被计能产生14倍的现金流，而非现在的7倍，一位摩根大通银行的安全分析师Billy Ng说。当时在香港市场的公开上市是多么的得意洋洋，而从拉斯维加斯来的两大对手韦恩赌场和金沙赌场进入带来的极大冲击却不明显。何鸿燊努力的想抓住这次机遇，然而，却因身陷和他妹妹何婉琪的诉讼中而耽搁，何鸿燊的妹妹十姑娘何婉琪长期在其家族多种博彩业的经营上与何鸿燊宿有不和。这场司法大战将1月的上市计划延期。为了使这场交易可以在本周顺利进行，会为投资者赔偿一切相关合法的出资。

The offering document was littered with titbits about Mr Ho’s empire. He turns out to have an interest in a casino in North Korea; stakes in five of SJM’s largest suppliers, including the ferries that bring punters to Macau; and interests in local horse- and dog-racing franchises, a Chinese lottery and various hotels and property.
这些要约文件在何鸿燊的赌博帝国里散落着尚属奇闻轶事。他还投资入股一家在朝鲜的赌场，澳门博彩发展最大的5个客源供应商，包括渡口为澳门带来了赌客，本地赛马及赛狗的专营权收益，中国的彩票和各种各样的酒店和产业。

Disclosing all this information cannot have been easy for Mr Ho. For years he has trod a difficult line, being one of Hong Kong’s most visible personalities and appearing at society events, while also running a complicated, mysterious business empire. Why, given the weak market, has he chosen to bring it all to light now?
曝光这一切的信息对何鸿燊来讲实属不易。多年以来他都脚踩着一条难以处理的分界线，身为香港最显赫的人物之一，出现在很多社会事件中，同时也经营者一个复杂而且神秘的商业王国。为什么?在如今这样不景气的市场，他却非要上市，要一切都曝光？

Perhaps it is the first step in a more profound rehabilitation of SJM, prompted by Mr Ho’s acceptance of just how badly it has been gored by foreign competitors. In February 2007 SJM responded with its own elaborate casino across from his old flagship, the Casino Lisboa. But the new Grand Lisboa (pictured above) is far from packed and still lacks an occupancy licence for the hotel above the gaming floor. A public listing now may not bring in much money, but it provides a way to raise money in future and grant ownership stakes to more competent managers. Mr Ho must have realised that the game has changed.
何先生(被迫)承认外国竞争对手带来的惨痛伤害，这促使SJM进行更深远的复兴，而上述手段可能就是第一步.作为回应，2007年2月，SJM在其老旗舰公司普京赌场对面开设了美轮美奂的新普京赌场.但是新葡京娱乐城远远不能容纳，而且缺少楼上酒店和赌厅的许可证。也许公开上市现在还不能带来很多钱，但是这为未来赚更多的钱铺好了路，给予更有能力的经理以股权激励。何鸿燊意识到，这场赌博的局势已经改变了。

译者： iamwx4444    http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=12495&extra=page%3D1