Macao Studio City Brings the First W Hotel to Macao

Macao Studio City Brings the First W Hotel to Macao

August 10, 2007

W Macao Studio City to open in 2009


    HONG KONG, Aug. 10 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Macao Studio
City (MSC), one of Asia's first integrated leisure resort
properties combining studios, retail, entertainment and
world-class hotels today announced the arrival of the first
W hotel to Macao at the Macao Studio City complex located on
Cotai. The new hotel is named W Macao Studio City and will
open in 2009. Offering 563 guest rooms, it will offer a
unique mix of innovative design, comfort and cultural
influences, from fashion to music to art and everything in
between.

    Today also marks a significant milestone for Macao
Studio City. During the last 6 months since its
groundbreaking, Macao Studio City has welcomed world
renowned brands to the project, worth over US$2 billion,
offering international visitors, business travelers and
corporate customers a unique leisure and business travel
experience. The all-star cast features industry leaders
such as Taubman, Playboy Enterprises and the icon of Asian
style, Mr. David Tang.  The addition of W completes all the
strategic partnerships that make up Macao Studio City's
hotel products in phase 1.  Four world-class hotel partners
of Macao Studio City will add 1,902 hotel rooms to the
booming Cotai area.

    "Macao Studio City brings together the best hotel
partners in the world and we are excited to partner with
Starwood to bring the W to Macao," said Peter Lam,
co-chairman of Macao Studio City. "Our vision is to
create a must-see, must-stay and must-return destination
for leisure and business travelers around the world.  Along
with other hotel partners -- not to mention the arrival of
the Playboy Mansion Macao -- I firmly believe that Macao
Studio City will be an experience that visitors will want
to return again and again."

    "W will captivate an in-crowd of
lifestyle-oriented travelers by offering its special blend
of cool experiences.  The brand fits in very well with the
overall design and direction of Macao Studio City and its
positioning as the hippest and coolest place to be in
Macao.  Macao Studio City will be the place where the stars
and celebrities will hang out," said David Friedman,
co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of Macao Studio
City.

    Friedman added, "With the arrival of W, Macao
Studio City has completed all its hotel partnerships and
this is an important milestone for us. We are thrilled with
the progress of the project.  In the last 6 months since our
groundbreaking, we made many important announcements and
welcomed a vast array of brands who are all leaders in
their respective industries.  We have taken a major step
towards our ultimate goal, which is to provide our
customers a truly unique experience."

    "Following the announcements of the Ws in Hong
Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou, W Macao Studio City is a
logical extension of W's dynamic growth in China,"
said Miguel Ko, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts,
Asia Pacific. "W brings to life its own unique
positioning, delivering a differentiated travel experience
for travelers and will be an irresistible destination for
visitors to Macao."

    The 563 rooms and suites at W Macao Studio City will be
outfitted with many W signature elements, including the
world renowned W signature bed,  The Living Room, W Cafe,
state of the art fitness center, and featuring W's award
winning Whatever/Whenever 24-hour concierge service.  Other
facilities include an 11,000 square feet of meeting space,
an outdoor heated pool and private cabana service.  W Macao
Studio City will be designed by celebrity designer Charles
Allem of Charles Allem Designs International. 

    "The Cotai area is seeing great momentum, and the
addition of W Macao Studio City is certainly going to
attract stylish and trendy customers who seek innovative
design, comfort and cultural influences, to the `new
Macao'," said Mr. Ambrose Cheung, co-chief executive
officer, Macao Studio City.  "Macao Studio City is
developing at a rapid pace; our recent announcements have
brought other world-class brands in entertainment, retail
and hospitality to the complex.  We are confident that W
Macao Studio City, as well as the Macao Studio City complex
itself, will be a tremendous success when it opens in
mid-2009."

    Macao Studio City is being developed on a 32.3-acre
site in Macao, strategically located "Where Cotai
BeginsTM", next to the new Lotus Bridge immigration
checkpoint, linking the complex directly to Zhuhai's
Hengqin Island.  When completed, Macao Studio City will
boast some of the most comprehensive entertainment and
retail facilities of any single property in Macao, as well
as a one million square foot Studio RetailTM complex called
The Mall at Studio City -- created in partnership with
Taubman Centers, Inc.    

    About W Hotels

    W Hotels is a global lifestyle brand with 21 properties
in the most vibrant cities around the world.  Inspiring and
indulging its guests with thoughtful, refreshing and
stylish experiences, signature restaurants, bars and
destination spas, W has become the fastest growing luxury
hotel brand in the world. Each hotel offers a unique mix of
innovative design, comfort, and cultural influences from
fashion to music to art and everything in between. W's
first residential property, W Dallas-Victory, opened in
June of 2006, and soon thereafter was named a Forbes
Magazine "Top Business Hotel." W Residences,
offering the W lifestyle at home, have been announced for
Scottsdale (2008), Midtown Atlanta (2008), Fort Lauderdale
(2008), Buckhead (2008), Hoboken (2008), Downtown Atlanta
(2009), Downtown New York (2009), South Beach (2009),
Phoenix (2009), Hollywood (2009), Philadelphia (2009), and
Austin (2010). Internationally, W has announced plans for
hotels in Istanbul (2008), Doha (2008), Hong Kong (2008),
St. Petersburg (2008), Athens (2008), Santiago (2008),
Milan (2008), Dubai-Festival City (2008), Shanghai (2009),
Barcelona (2009), Guangzhou (2010), and Dubai-The Palm
(2010). W's first Retreat & Spa, W Maldives, opened in
September of 2006 and in March of 2007, received the
prestigious Travel + Leisure Design Award for Best Resort. 
W has plans to open Retreat & Spa hotels in Vieques
(2008), Koh Samui (2008), and Verbier (2010), the latter of
which will serve as W's first ski retreat.  For more
information, visit http://www.whotels.com .

    About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

    Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.(R) is one
of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with
approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and
145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
Starwood(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator
and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following
internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury
Collection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by
Sheraton, W(R), Le Meridien(R) and the recently announced
AloftSM and ElementSM Hotels.  Starwood Hotels also owns
Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier
developers and operators of high quality vacation interval
ownership resorts.  For more information, please visit
http://www.starwoodhotels.com .

    About Macao Studio City

    Macao Studio City is Asia's first leisure resort
property with studios, retail, entertainment and
world-class hotels, such as the Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, W
and The Tang Hotel.  Macao Studio City is being developed
by Cyber One Agents Limited, a joint venture between New
Cotai, LLC and East Asia Satellite Television Holdings, a
subsidiary of Hong Kong-based eSun Holdings
("eSun"; HKEx: 571). Singapore's CapitaLand owns
33.3 per cent of East Asia Satellite Television Holdings
while eSun Holdings owns the remaining 66.7 per cent.

    eSun Holdings is one of Asia's leading media and
entertainment companies and an associate company of Lai Sun
Development ("LSD"; HKEx: 488), a leading hotel
and property developer. Both companies are part of Hong
Kong's Lai Sun Group. 

    New Cotai, LLC is a consortium of US-based investors,
including the co-chairman and co-CEO of Macao Studio City,
David Friedman. Mr. Friedman is a veteran resort and gaming
developer who led Las Vegas Sands' entry into Macao. The
funds of New Cotai, LLC are managed by Silver Point
Capital, L.P., a private US-based investment firm, and
Oaktree Capital Management, LLC, a global independent
investment management firm.

    CapitaLand is one of the largest listed real estate
companies in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, the
multinational company's core businesses in real estate,
hospitality and real estate financial services are focused
in gateway cities in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle
East.  The company's real estate and hospitality portfolio
spans more than 90 cities in over 20 countries.  CapitaLand
also leverages on its significant real estate asset base,
financial skills and market knowledge to develop real
estate financial products and services in Singapore and the
region.

    For more information, please visit
http://www.macaostudiocity.com .






    For more information, please contact:

     Jacqueline Wu
     Macao Studio City
     Tel:   [phone]
     Fax:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Adrian Fu
     Burson-Marsteller
     Tel:   [phone]
     Fax:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]	
    
     Hwee Peng Yeo
     Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific
     Tel:   [phone]
     Fax:   [phone] 
     Email: [e-mail]