Sands China Stock

Sands China Ltd. develops, owns, and operates large-scale integrated resorts in Macao. The company is a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corp.

In 2022, the company welcomed approximately 31 million leisure and business visits at its properties on Cotai and on the Macao Peninsula. The company’s integrated resorts not only offer gaming areas, but also the most four- and five-star rated hotel rooms compared to any other single developer in the market. The company’s integrated resorts also collectively feature the largest capacity in meeting space, convention and exhibition halls, retail and dining areas and entertainment venues.

Venetian Macau, S.A. (also known as Venetian Macau Limited) (VML), the company’s subsidiary, holds one of the six concessions administered by the Macao government to operate casinos or gaming areas in Macao.

The company developed, own and operate The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Sands Macao. The company also owns the Cotai Expo, one of the largest convention and exhibition centers in Asia, as well as some of Macao’s largest entertainment venues, the Cotai Arena and the Londoner Arena.

The company’s integrated resort brands, including The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao and The Parisian Macao, are aspirational and recognized throughout China and Asia for their quality and services and leave a lasting impression on its customers. The company is the first developer in Macao to feature world-class global hospitality brands in its hotel offerings on Cotai, including the Four Seasons, St. Regis, Conrad and Sheraton.

Within its integrated resorts, the comopany also operates some of the largest and most profitable retail malls in Asia, showcasing approximately 700 shops, which occupy over 2.1 million square feet of retail space. The company’s retail malls are home to many global luxury designer brands and leading Asian retail brands.

The company owns and operates Cotai Water Jet, one of the two major high-speed ferry operators between Hong Kong and Macao, facilitating leisure and business travelers to reach Macao from points in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong International Airport.

Business Strategies

The company’s business strategy is to develop Cotai and to leverage its large-scale integrated resort business model to create Asia’s premier gaming, leisure, convention and meetings destination. The company’s interconnected integrated resorts, which have a wide range of branded hotel and resort offerings, are designed to attract different segments of the market throughout the year. The company’s business strategy and development plan allow it to achieve a more consistent demand, longer average length of stay in its hotels, more diversified sources of revenue and higher margins than gaming-centric facilities.

The key elements of the company’s strategy include developing and diversifying its integrated resort offerings on Cotai to include a full complement of products and services to cater to different market segments; leveraging its scale of operations; continuing to provide luxury amenities and high service levels to its VIP and premium players; and identifying targeted investment opportunities to drive growth across its portfolio.

Properties and Projects

The company’s operations consist of The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao, the Sands Macao and other operations that support these properties, including its high-speed Cotai Water Jet ferry service operating between Hong Kong and Macao.

The Venetian Macao

In 2007, the company opened The Venetian Macao, the anchor property of its Cotai Strip development, which is conveniently located approximately three kilometres from the Taipa Ferry Terminal on Macao’s Taipa Island and ten kilometres from the bridge linking Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai. As of December 31, 2022, The Venetian Macao included approximately 503,000 square feet of gaming space and gaming supporting area comprising exclusive VIP rooms and an expansive mass market gaming floor. During the year ended December 31, 2022, The Venetian Macao had total visitation of approximately 9.7 million.

The Venetian Macao also provides a broad selection of entertainment options and amenities that caters the mass market customers, including families, and also targets VIP and premium players with bespoke products and services, such as the Paiza Club. Visitors and guests can access Shoppes at Venetian from several different locations, including the main road through Cotai, Shoppes at Four Seasons, The Venetian Macao hotel and The Venetian Macao gaming floor. Retail offerings include a wide variety of selections, ranging from well- known international brands such as Louis Vuitton, Versace, Hermès, YSL, Balenciaga, Furla, Hugo Boss, Coach and Polo Ralph Lauren, to mid-level retail offerings such as Lululemon, Nike, UNIQLO, Victoria’s Secret, Marks & Spencer, Adidas, Foot Locker, Champion and FILA. The mall has an extensive selection of high-end jewelry and watch retailers, such as Rolex, Omega, Bvlgari, Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Breguet, Piaget, Chaumet and Chopard.

Furthermore, The Venetian Macao features a convention center and meeting room complex of approximately 1.2 million square feet, Cotai Expo. These MICE facilities provide a flexible and expansive space that can be configured to provide small, mid-size or large meeting rooms and/or accommodate large-scale multi-media events or trade shows. MICE events typically take place on weekdays to attract business travelers during the slower mid-week periods while leisure travelers occupy the company’s properties during the weekends.

The Londoner Macao

The Londoner Macao is located across the street from The Venetian Macao, The Parisian Macao and The Plaza Macao and is the company’s largest integrated resort on Cotai. The Londoner Macao is the result of the company’s renovation, expansion and rebranding of Sands Cotai Central, which included the addition of extensive thematic elements both externally and internally and was completed in 2022. The Londoner Macao presents a range of new attractions and features, including some of London’s most recognizable landmarks, such as the Houses of Parliament and the Elizabeth Tower (commonly known as Big Ben), and interactive guest experiences. The integrated resort features four hotel towers.

The Parisian Macao

On September 13, 2016, the company opened The Parisian Macao, a themed, iconic, must-see integrated resort connected to The Venetian Macao and The Plaza Macao.

The Plaza Macao

In August 2008, the company opened The Plaza Macao, which is located adjacent to The Venetian Macao.

Sands Macao

The company opened Sands Macao in May 2004. Sands Macao was the first Las Vegas-style casino in Macao and contains a mix of gaming areas for mass market and VIP players, and entertainment and dining facilities, and hotel suites. Sands Macao is situated on the Macao Peninsula near the Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal, on a waterfront parcel centrally located between the Gongbei border gate and the central business district in Macao. This location provides Sands Macao access to a large customer base, particularly the visitors who travelled to Macao by sea arriving at the Taipa Ferry Terminal or the Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal. In addition to gaming facilities and hotel accommodations, Sands Macao also includes restaurants, spa facilities, entertainment areas and other amenities. The dining venues feature popular regional cuisine and include a Cantonese restaurant and an upscale western-style steakhouse.

Other Operations

The company’s transportation operations consists of the high-speed Cotai Water Jet ferry services between Hong Kong and Macao, Cotai Limo services, Cotai Shuttle bus services, airplane services for VIP and premium players, and travel agencies.

Cotai Water Jet Ferry Services: In November 2007, the company launched its high-speed Cotai Water Jet ferry services between the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal and the Taipa Ferry Terminal near its Cotai Strip development. The Group had suspended its ferry operations between Hong Kong and Macao in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in early 2020 and resumed Cotai Water Jet ferry services between Hong Kong and Macao on January 8, 2023.

The Cotai Water Jet ferry services are fully managed and operated on the company’s behalf by Chu Kong High-Speed Ferry Co., Ltd., through catamarans owned by its indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries within the Group. Each custom-built catamaran has the capacity to carry more than 400 passengers and operate at top speeds of approximately 42 knots.

The company operates its ferry services pursuant to a renewed ten-year license granted by the Macao government on November 8, 2019 with an expiry date on January 13, 2030.

Cotai Limo Services: The company’s Cotai Limo service fleet consists of over 100 limousines. It operates 24/7 and includes 25 signature vehicles, which are provided on an exclusive basis to its VIP and premium players. Fleet deployment is managed through a centralized dispatch office for all pre-booked services, while additional vehicles are stationed at various locations to provide on demand services.

Cotai Shuttle Bus Services: The company operates a fleet of 139 (34 owned, 105 leased) complimentary shuttle buses as of December 31, 2022. The Cotai Shuttle also runs to and from two border checkpoints with mainland China, the Border Gate and Macao area of Hengqin Port, transporting visitors directly to and between the company’s properties every five to ten minutes during peak periods. The services between the Taipa Ferry Terminal and the company’s properties provide a connecting service for all Cotai Water Jet ferry arrivals and direct visitors to its properties. All of these routes maintain a regular schedule, although the exact operating hours are dependent on the specific route.

In January 2023, all of these routes resumed regular operation and transported the visitors to the company properties every 10 to 15 minutes during peak periods.

Airplane Services: Through a shared services agreement with LVS, the company has access to a fleet of 16 corporate configured airplanes. All airplanes are owned by LVS or by various related entities of LVS’ controlling shareholder and are operated by Sands Aviation, LLC.

Cotai Ticketing: Cotai Ticketing was established in 2007 to provide ticketing services for events at the company’s properties. Cotai Ticketing sells tickets for events at the Cotai Arena, The Venetian Theater, The Parisian Theater, Sands Theater, and other venues at The Venetian Macao and The Londoner Macao. Cotai Ticketing has six permanent box office locations across the properties and a call center based in Macao with three language options and direct phone numbers for Asian and North American countries. The company also sells tickets online 24/7 at its website www.CotaiTicketing.com. This website is available in two languages — English and Simplified Chinese.

Travel Agencies: The company has its own travel agency, CotaiTravel in Macao. The company has also developed partnerships with a large number of tour and travel companies throughout Asia. These agencies provide reservations for accommodation, travel to Macao and for various shows and other activities and entertainment amenities at its properties.

Retail Mall Operations. The company owns and operates retail malls at its integrated resorts at The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and The Plaza Macao. The company owns over 2.1 million square feet of gross retail space.

The company’s malls are designed to complement its other unique amenities and service offerings provided by its integrated resorts. The company’s strategy is to seek out desirable tenants that appeal to its customers and provide a wide variety of shopping options. The company generates its mall revenue primarily from leases with tenants through base minimum rents, overage rents and reimbursements for common area maintenance (CAM) and other expenditures.

History

Sands China Ltd. was incorporated in the Cayman Islands in 2009 as an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands.