Twenty travel agencies reportedly are suing to halt the proposed redevelopment of Macau’s Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel, claiming they are owed money for hotel rooms that were booked before the Macau government closed the troubled property in 2016.
The Taipa hotel, formerly known as the New Century and its Greek Mythology casino had been roiled in ownership disputes for years before the casino was shut down in 2015 by the government’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. The Macau Government Tourism Office put the renamed Beijing Imperial Palace out of business and later revoked its hotel license.
A report by the Macau News Agency said the travel agencies are suing an entity known as Empresa Hoteleira de Macau, alleging they’re owed MOP100 million (US$12.4 million) for more than 70,000 pre-booked room nights.
Empresa, meanwhile, is wrangling with a company owned by junket giant Suncity Group over who currently owns the property. According to MNA, it’s unknown which of the two filed the redevelopment application with the government’s Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau.
Empresa is owned by Ng Man Sun, chairman of Hong Kong-listed Amax International Holdings, a former junket aggregator engaged in gaming-related investments.
Amax wrote off its 24.8 percent stake in Greek Mythology earlier this year and sold it to a Macau investment firm, Fu Po International, for HK$38,000, the equivalent of US$4,750.
