Ill-fated Macau hotel THE 13 has launched major repair works with a view to resuming business operations sometime this year, according to information from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO).
The update followed inquiries from Inside Asian Gaming as to the status of THE 13’s hotel license, which was due to expire on 31 December 2023. In response, the MGTO said the hotel’s operating entity, The 13 Hotel Management Ltd, had submitted an application to renew its hotel license, which has been approved – although the hotel currently remains closed to the public.
THE 13 has, the MGTO added, already commenced maintenance work for the resumption of business “and submitted an application to the Lands and Works Bureau for a (revised) programme of repair/maintenance works.
“The 13 Hotel has renewed its hotel license for the year 2024.”
It remains unclear what The 13 Hotel Management Ltd’s long-term plans for the property are, however, after Macau’s Court of First Instance declared THE 13 bankrupt in February 2023.
Parent company South Shore Holdings previously applied to the Macau court for voluntary liquidation of its wholly-owned subsidiary New Concordia Hotel Limited, the sole beneficial owner of THE 13 Hotel, amid pressure from its lenders. South Shore was also delisted from the Hong Kong Exchange in February.
The brainchild of long-departed Chairman Stephen Hung, THE 13 had been envisioned as an uber-luxury hotel with space for 66 VIP gaming tables aimed at capitalizing on Macau’s booming VIP segment of the early 2010s. Instead, a series of funding and construction delays saw the property open in September 2018 with no gaming and with a number of rooms unfinished – all at a cost of US$1.6 billion.
South Shore revealed in October 2021 that it had ceased all operations and was insolvent following a statutory demand issued by one lender demanding payment of HK$3.28 billion (US$423 million) in outstanding loans and interest or face a winding up petition against the company.
Long-time Chairman Peter Coker Jr, who stepped down from the company in October 2022, was arrested in Thailand in January 2023 after being charged by the US Department of Justice with stock market manipulation.
