Mystery as to why billionaire casino mogul visited Sydney
As The Star continues to fight for survival, the appearance of a mysterious new Asian shareholder and the visit to Sydney by a billionaire casino mogul has tongues wagging in the gaming industry.
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Mystery surrounds the sighting in Sydney of arguably the world’s most influential casino mogul – Malaysian born Lim Kok Thay – as The Star Sydney’s future remains on a knife edge.
The sighting of KT Lim in the eastern suburbs has come to light as a little-known Macau investor has been unveiled as a substantial shareholder in The Star, after buying up 6.52 per cent of the embattled company.
Xingchun Wang is now the third-biggest shareholder in The Star, yet casino executives and the company’s bankers have little idea about him or his intentions.
He commenced his buying of The Star’s stock in last September but only came to public attention on Monday after an ASX release announced him as passing the 5 per cent stake that qualifies him as a substantial shareholder.
While little is known about Wang, Lim has a massive profile globally as the multi-billionaire chairman of the Genting Group.
Genting is a conglomerate with assets across a diverse range of sectors including casinos, leisure and hospitality, oil and gas, and property development.
Lim, who was spotted in Sydney in the New Year, also has history with The Star having previously held a significant shareholding in the casino company and applying to the regulator in 2012 to increase his stake from 6 per cent to 25 per cent.
The Daily Telegraph reported in 2015 that after three years waiting, “Lim is on the verge of winning government approval to increase his stake”.
In the story from May of that year, this masthead revealed: “The involvement of Genting … would beef-up the Star at a time where its business is likely to come under severe pressure from Mr (James) Packer’s new casino, due to be built and operating in 2019.”
While Genting was eventually approved to increase its stake in The Star, it never took up the opportunity and offloaded its shares in 2017.
Well-placed Macau gaming sources have suggested Wang is a friend of The Star’s two Hong Kong-based partners in Brisbane’s Queens Wharf development – Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium.
It is not known if Wang has any relationship with Genting.
Wang has previous form in making secretive and sporadic investments, with links to a string of shelf companies in Hong Kong which in turn have taken stakes across coal, transport and chemicals companies.
Wang listed his address in a massive apartment complex in Macau’s newer suburbs. Casinos represent Macau’s biggest source of revenue.
Multiple attempts to contact Wang have been unsuccessful.
The Daily Telegraph has also approached Genting for comment on Lim’s visit to Australia.
The Star’s chief executive Steve McCann is expected to meet with Queen’s Wharf partners Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium in coming weeks.
While McCann believes The Star can return to profitability, he is realistic about the enormity of the turnaround task.
“For Star as a corporate entity to get through this, and for shareholders’ and creditors’ interests to be fully protected, and for our employees to have the job security they’re after, requires a meeting of minds of a significant range of stakeholders – it’s complicated,” he said.
“So we need to have those stakeholders come together to deliver an outcome if we want to succeed.”
The Star is targeting $100m annualised savings by March 31, with a culling of head office functions and separation of individual properties the centrepiece of a major restructure.
The same date is set for a resolution, one way or another, on its Queensland licence.
“In the corporate restructure, the vast majority of frontline jobs, we are seeking to retain,” Mr McCann said.
“We believe we can do that well and take out costs without the company needing to go through administration to achieve that.
“What Star is asking for is time to reset the business.”
The uncertainty is already making itself felt among staff and suppliers.
“Clearly we’re in difficult times at the moment and it’s very challenging for people to see beyond the immediate issues,” Mr McCann said.
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