Travellers Group still pursuing P42-B IPO

MANILA, Philippines - Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. said it is still pursuing its P42-billion initial public offering (IPO) that was deferred in July.

The Filipino and Malaysian joint venture company is closely monitoring market conditions for its listing in the local bourse, a top company executive said.

“We are obviously looking at the opportunities to be able to list Travellers Group,” company president Kingson U. Sian told reporters.

“Obviously, we did some filing in the Philippine Stock Exchange because we have the intention to do [the IPO] except at that time the market was not cooperative,“ he pointed out.

In July, hotel and casino operator Travellers Group held back its IPO given volatile market conditions. The IPO was approved by the PSE board of directors on June 26.

Since hitting its 31st all-time high this year at 7,392.20 on May 15, the benchmark stock index suffered from the exit of foreign funds. It sank to its lowest closing so far this year at 5,789.06 on June 25 but has since recovered to the 6,300 level.

“Because lots of things are happening in the market, we are closely watching,” Sian said, adding that the company has yet to decide when to raise fresh capital.

Sian said Travellers Group is waiting for the stock market to become less volatile.

Travellers Group will spend $600 million as it pursues Phase 2 and 3 of Resorts World Manila despite the deferral of the IPO.

“We have existing debt facilities we can tap,” Sian said, referring to funding source for the expansion.

Specifically, it will complete the 5,000-seat convention center with function rooms in 2014, the Marriott Hotel expansion in 2015, and new hotels Hilton and Sheraton in 2016.

Phase 2 and 3 will allow Travellers Group to increase retail space by 60 percent and add 1,100 rooms to the existing 1,226 rooms in Resorts World Manila’s Maxim’s, Marriott and Remington hotels.

To date, gaming facilities in the 12-hectare Resorts World Manila is composed of 300 tables and more than 1,800 slot machines.

Sian said Resorts World Manila continues to develop the foreign gaming market, particularly Chinese, Korean and Southeast Asian gamers.

Travellers Group is a joint venture of the world’s third-largest cruise line operator Genting Hong Kong and local conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc., which is also into property development, liquor and fastfood.