Ho and MGM plan a 600-room hotel, at a total cost of US$975 million, in the center of Macau, not far from Ho's father Stanley's worn flagship Lisboa hotel and casino. Bankers said MGM Grand Paradise would likely pay upwards of 300 basis points over the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) for the loan and would carry a maturity of five to seven years.

Last year, Wynn Macau paid 350 basis points for its US$397 million loan provided by Societe General and Deutsche Bank.

Both banks are also at work on a US$345 million facility for phase two of the Wynn project that will bring the total development costs for the project run by US casino magnate Steve Wynn to US$1.05 billion.

In February, Las Vegas Sands - owned by Wynn rival Sheldon Adelson - refinanced an upsized US$1.6 billion loan facility through Goldman Sachs and Scotia Capital, the investment banking arm of Canadian lender Nova Scotia Bank. The interest margin on the loan was undisclosed but the original US$1.01 billion loan cost the company 250 basis points over LIBOR. Proceeds were targeted predominately for projects in the United States but also included money for the company's Venetian hotel in Macau, slated to open in 2007.

The MGM Grand Paradise's casino complex, called the MGM Grand Macau, will contain 300 gaming tables and 1,000 slot machines with 50,000 square feet surrounding the site open for potential expansion. It is the second-most expensive project yet announced in Macau, behind the US$1.8 billion Venetian Macau resort currently under construction.

MGM plans to invest US$280 million in the deal while Pansy Ho plans to chip in US$80 million.

The joint venture operates under a subconcession from Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, the casino operator controlled by Stanley Ho, and is slated to open in 2007.tim.leemaster@singtaonewscorp.com