Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. is in talks to expand its brand beyond Macau, with plans to ramp up an asset-light strategy by teaming up with local partners to co-run multi-billion-dollar casino projects, Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Ho said.
The approach would help the group reduce debt and capture growth opportunities in emerging markets, Ho, who is also Melco’s founder, said in a video interview with Bloomberg News from Colombo on Saturday. He is in the Sri Lankan capital to open a casino resort — its first project under the new strategy.
“Having these new opportunities come up, our asset-light strategy allows us to do those and also have management fees and EBITDA associated with it, without committing serious capital,” Ho said.
