Sands Cotai Strip Macao has ditched a memorandum of understanding signed with Lander Real Estate to explore the promotion of sports events in China, according to reports.
Lander, a fast-growing company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, announced that the Venetian Macao, which is controlled by Sands China, sent a letter notifying them that it wanted to terminate the agreement.
The deal was signed in Hangzhou, China, on June 3 and the letter notifying Lander was received less than three weeks later on June 19, the Macau Business Daily reported. Lander said its decision to accept Sands’ rejection was “based on the principle of mutual respect”.
No reason has yet been given by either party as to why the deal was terminated.
The deal would have leveraged big sports events such as professional boxing, basketball and tennis at Cotai Arena with VIPs flown in from China.
Event organisers in Macau had welcomed the move as a means of diversifying the territory’s leisure and entertainment away from casinos. Gaming revenue has seen a steady decline in Macau with junket operators who serve high-stakes gamblers taking a hit in business as China clamps down on corruption and lavish spending.
