Las Vegas Sands Nearing Hong Kong IPO

HONG KONG (TheStreet) -- Las Vegas Sands(LVS Quote) is planning on listing is Macau assets on the Hong Kong stock exchange as early as last month, the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday.

The casino operator is looking to raise up to $2.5 billion in its initial public offering and expects to complete the offering in about four weeks after receiving regulatory approval for a share offering and listing on the exchange, the report said.

Last week, rival Wynn Resorts(WYNN Quote) began listing its Macau assets with much fanfare. On its first day of trading, shares spiked by more than 13%. Wynn sold 1.25 billion shares, or a 25% stake in the Macau business. The offering raked in HK$10.08 a share, the upper end of the range it was expecting, for a total of $1.63 billion.

Macau has been a hotbed for gambling. In September, the Chinese region reported gaming revenue there more than doubled.

But Macau's government is looking for some regulation and restrictions when it comes to gambling, and met with the six casino operators in the region, including Wynn, Las Vegas Sands, Melco Crown Entertainment(MPEL Quote) and MGM Grand Paradise(MGM Quote) earlier this week.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York

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