Las Vegas union calls on Macau gov’t to release land transaction records amid worries over alleged triad involvement in Treasure Island deal
An international union has submitted a public records request regarding the land transaction involving Genting Group and Ao Mio Leong to the Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU).
The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 501, has been researching the land transaction in question as part of a comprehensive review of the Malaysian-headquartered Genting Group’s operations, launched in the wake of alleged labor law violations in Las Vegas.
In a letter to the government seen by the Times, the Las Vegas-based trade union said that, dating back to 2007, Genting Hong Kong (then called Star Cruises) and Genting International acquired a 75% interest in a Macau-based entity called Treasure Island Entertainment Complex Limited, which owned a parcel of land on the Macau peninsula situated along Praca Ferreira do Amaral.
The Genting venture intended to develop a hotel on the land and had already entered into an agreement with gaming operator Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) to operate a casino in the complex.
However, because the Genting Hong Kong’s hotel-casino development in Macau remained half-built due to the pandemic, the company sought to shed assets.
According to the letter, a copy of which was also sent to lawmakers, in November 2020, Genting Hong Kong therefore announced the 50% disposal of its interest in the Treasure Island Entertainment Complex development, and that developer Ao Mio Leong had agreed to purchase the stake for HKD750 million.
In January 2021, Genting Hong Kong issued a disclosure filing acknowledging the “likelihood” that Ao would exercise share options to acquire Genting’s remaining 50% stake in the hotel development, leaving Genting fully divested.
“However, to date there has been no public disclosure confirming that Ms. Ao has acquired Genting’s remaining 50% interest. It is unclear where the matter stands in light of Genting Hong Kong’s ongoing liquidation,” the letter read.
“Genting’s nearly USD100 million transaction with Ms. Ao and their extended joint business interest in Macau should raise alarm [bells] for Macau regulators, including the DSSCU. Ao Mio Leong has an active association with a prominent Macau triad family,” the group added.
Therefore, Local 501 “feels it necessary to investigate Genting’s nearly USD100 million deal (and potentially ongoing partnership) with Ao Mio Leong.”
This is because the government has not scrutinized this transaction, and because Genting’s international operations “pose a systemic risk to Local 501’s membership.”
According to corporate filings, Ao is one of a four-person director group for local real estate firm Easyway Investment Company Limited, which, according to the group, is linked to triads.
The group set a 10-business-
day deadline for the government to respond to its public records request, noting that it had previously issued a 200-page land file for the Wynn Macau property in 2015.
