MBS Will Further Delay Expansion Preparations Till 2022
The Las Vegas Sands group announced delays to the delivery of construction costs estimates and construction schedules for the Marina Bay sands project up to March 31, 2022. That was after they amended the terms of the bank agreement previously arranged.
Already the group had mentioned that the deadline had already been pushed to June 20, 2021, from June 2020. The agreement consists of SGD8.67billion, with DBS Bank Ltd as the agent and Marina Bay Sands as the borrower.
In their 2nd quarter report, Las Vegas Sands said it had about US$441million for its Singapore revolving facility and SDG3.69billion under the draw term facility available for the expansion project. They reiterated that the expansion would cover a new hotel tower with rooftop attractions, 15,000-seater live entertainment areas, meeting facilities, among others.
The expansion project came after Las Vegas Sands pledged to further invest SGD4.5billion in Marina Bay Sands when their gaming rights were extended in Singapore till 2030. In 2019, the group told investors that the work would be concluded in 2023 but later extended to 2024 and 2025.
Furthermore, Singapore’s tourism bosses stated that such delays in expanding the two casino resorts were expected due to disruptions in the construction industry because of the pandemic.
In the newly amended deal, other terms agreed included a waiver period for MBS to comply with interest coverage covenants from the last quarter of 2022 all through to the end of 2022.
It also permits Marina Bay Sands to pay dividends of an unlimited amount if the ratio of debt to EBITDA values is 4.25:1. Also, they can make payments of up to SDG500million each year if the ratio is higher than 4.25:1.
