[HONG KONG] SJM Holdings Ltd, Asia's biggest casino operator, will spend HK$30 billion (S$4.9 billion) to build its first resort in Macau's Cotai area, HK$5 billion more than planned because of higher construction and labour costs.

SJM broke ground yesterday on Lisboa Palace, which will have as many as 700 gambling tables and 1,200 slot machines, according to a statement. Scheduled to open in 2017, it will have three hotels with more than 2,500 rooms, including a luxury hotel in partnership with Italian fashion house Gianni Versace SpA.

The company founded by Macau tycoon Stanley Ho is expanding in Cotai, Asia's version of the Las Vegas Strip, to catch up with companies including Sands China Ltd and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd that have resorts there. SJM, which runs 20 of Macau's 35 casinos, is the last of the Chinese city's six operators to get government approval to build on the isthmus of reclaimed land that links the islands of Coloane and Taipa.