A Macau-based investor has become a major shareholder in Star Entertainment, an Australian casino group. Xinchun Wang, who has quietly racked up a 5.52 per cent stake in the company over the past few months, has become the second-largest investor after the holding group with 9.6 per cent. It comes at a critical time for Star, which has seen its free cash reserves fall from $92 million to $79 million in just one quarter, despite raising a $100 million emergency loan.
Trading conditions remain challenging, and the company desperately needs money to fund basic maintenance, modernisation and, perhaps most dangerously, the huge fines and compliance costs arising from the regulatory crackdown.</p