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Staff members display the brochures for the IPO of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau Holdings Ltd at a news conference in Hong Kong. -- PHOTO: AP
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HONG KONG - A HONG KONG court on Tuesday turned down the last-ditch bid by the estranged sister of Macau billionaire Stanley Ho to stop his casino company listing here, clearing the way for a Wednesday IPO.
The Court of Appeal said the decision to allow the listing of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau Holdings (SJM) was not illegal or against the public interest, as Winnie Ho had argued.
'The gambling ordinance generally prohibits gambling in Hong Kong. But there is no prohibition of gambling outside Hong Kong,' said Mr Geoffrey Ma, the high court judge ruling on the case, in turning down the appeal.
Ms Winnie Ho, who has been tied up in an epic legal battle with her brother for many years, launched her legal move last week, forcing SJM to delay its listing from last Thursday.
She said that ongoing legal battles between the two in Macau meant the listed company may have no real assets, and that because gambling was illegal in Hong Kong, the listing of such firms was against the public interest.
According to reports, SJM has raised around 500 million US dollars (S$673 million) from the much-awaited listing, which was originally mooted in January but delayed because of poor market conditions and the ongoing legal battle.
Mr Stanley Ho held a gambling monopoly in the former Portuguese colony for four decades until 2002, when foreign operators were allowed to build casinos, a move that has seen Ho's market share shrink. -- AFP
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