Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau
| Public | |
| Industry | Hospitality, Tourism |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Founder | Stanley Ho |
| Headquarters | Macau |
|
Area served
|
Global |
|
Key people
|
(Chairman & CEO) |
| Products | Gambling, Hotels, Entertainment, Casinos, Resorts |
| Website | http://www.sjmholdings.com |
The Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, SA; abbreviated as STDM, (Chinese: 澳門旅遊娛樂股份有限公司) (English: "Tourism and Entertainment Company of Macau Limited") is a company in Macau owned by Stanley Ho and his family. Historically, it has held a monopoly to Macau's gambling industry as the only licensee for casinos. In 2002, the government of Macau began issuing more licenses and the monopoly was broken. Still, of the 30 operating casinos in Macau, 14 are owned by Stanley Ho.
The company was founded in 1962 by Stanley Ho and his then partners Teddy Yip (Stanley Ho's brother-in-law through his sister, Susie Ho), Yip Hon and Henry Fok. In that year, it was granted a monopoly on gambling in Macau, which had previously been held by Tai Hing Company since 1934.
In 1982, Ho and Yip had a major public falling out, as a result of which Yip disposed of his interest for a rumored HK$400 million. Cheng Yu-tung, founder of New World Development, stepped in to fill the breach. Fok's attempt to sell his stake in 1986, for a reported HK$600 million, was resisted by Ho. Complaining about the company's strategy and dividend policy, Fok gifted the stake to the Henry Fok Ying Tung Foundation in 2002.
Since 2002, STDM was the subject of numerous lawsuits initiated either by Ho of by his sister, Winnie. Only after the final challenge was resolved in 2008 was it able to list its casinos subsidiary Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
In 2011, STDM shareholders are:
Ho owns eight casinos, including Casino Lisboa, Macau's most famous casino. The casino features 107 slots and 146 table games. The property has six restaurants and a hotel with 1,000 rooms.
As casino gambling is illegal in Hong Kong, it is welcomed by tourists. Benefiting from the individual traveling policy between Hong Kong and Macau, the business of Casino Lisboa has increased rapidly, especially in the Chinese Lunar New Year. Within that period, the average daily income is HK$100 million. It is predicted that Lisboa will be required to pay HK$800 Million ($103 Million USD) on betting duty.
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Wikipedia