Marina Bay Sands Pte, hotel and casino operator in Singapore, plans to expand its business through an up to $7.5 billion loan, the largest syndicated loan record in Singapore.
Its parent company, Las Vegas Sand Corp., filed in October that the cost will “materially exceed” the $3.37 billion initial estimation due to inflation, higher material and labor cost.
Marina Bay Sands’ plan is to expand luxury rooms and convention facilities in its hotel tower. However, according to Bloomberg, the plan would include refinancing of existing loans and rollover of its drawdown facilities, as it tries to rebound after the pandemic.
Earlier in 2019, Marina Bay Sands acquired the loans from DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., United Overseas Bank Ltd. and Maybank Securities Pte. These lenders possibly have a say on the plan.
Marina Bay Sands will need the new loan to settle with the old loans, as it will look to borrow $1.5 billion more as a part of the package, according to Bloomberg.
The financing plans for expansion could help Marina Bay Sands turn around from the Covid-19 pandemic as the country is now facing a higher number of tourists, including those from China.
A syndicated loan is quite rare in Singapore as the last one was in 2012 when the Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s TCC Assets Ltd. signed an agreement in a deal to acquire food and beverage maker Fraser & Neave Ltd. for the loan value of $6.97 billion.
