Trading in shares of Macau's Suncity Group, unit Summit Ascent suspended (updated)

LET group

09/12/2021 01:29

(Adds background)
    HONG KONG, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Trading in shares of Macau's
Suncity Group Holdings Ltd  1383.HK  and its unit Summit Ascent
Holdings Ltd  0102.HK  were  suspended on Thursday, days after
its chief executive was arrested over alleged links to
cross-border gambling. 
    The Hong Kong stock exchange gave no further details on the
suspension.
    It comes after embattled junket giant Suncity, which is
separate to the listed entity and also operated by the parent
group's chief executive, Alvin Chau, closed all of its VIP
gambling rooms in Macau after Chau was arrested.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SM028
    Chau's junket operations are estimated to have accounted for
a quarter of Macau's gambling revenue. 
    The closure of Chau's gaming rooms is expected to exacerbate
pain for casino operators in the gambling hub and would lead to
closures in other areas of the group such as restaurants, bars
and hotels.
    Meanwhile, Macau's gaming regulator has ordered junket
operators in the former Portuguese colony to stop offering
credit to customers, according to brokerage firm Bernstein.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2SS287
    Separately, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing
unidentified sources, that Wynn  1128.HK  and Melco  0200.HK 
would close their junket rooms by Dec. 20 and Dec. 21.     

 (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Christopher Cushing and
Stephen Coates)
 ((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com; +852 3462 7745;))