Dear Shareholders, I am pleased to present to you our 2022 Annual Report.
Beginning in early 2020, the reduction in travel and tourism spending related to the pandemic dramatically impacted the operating environment in each of our markets. This reduction in travel and tourism spending continued to impact our financial results throughout 2021 and 2022. We were fortunate that a recovery in travel and tourism spending in Singapore began in April 2022, as many travel restrictions were relaxed. In Macao, many travel restrictions were relaxed in January 2023, and the recovery process in that market is now underway. We have confidence that travel and tourism spending in each of our markets will exhibit strong growth as travel and tourism spending continue the recovery process in 2023 and the years ahead.
Over the last three years, we have invested in strategic initiatives that will contribute to future growth as the recovery in travel and tourism spending comes to fruition. In addition, we have maintained our focus on the safety and well-being of our Team Members and guests, and on providing support to those most impacted in our host communities of Macao and Singapore. While we implemented a wide range of cost control measures over the last three years, we continued to maintain our commitments to our employees, avoid mass workforce reductions and protect jobs and health care benefits for our Team Members.
Our focus on the well-being of our people and our communities directly reflects the values of our visionary founder, Mr. Sheldon G. Adelson, who passed away in 2021. We remain deeply committed to continuing to execute his vision for the Company while building upon his legacy. Nowhere is that legacy more evident than in our market leading investments in Macao. Sands China has now invested more than $15 billion to deliver on our promise to help Macao in its economic diversification and its continued evolution into Asia’s leading business and leisure tourism destination. We were gratified to receive in late 2022 a concession to operate in Macao through 2032, which will enable us to continue our decades-long commitment to investing in the business and leisure tourism appeal of Macao and to contribute to its growth objectives as a world center of business and leisure tourism.
Despite the challenging operating environment in 2020, 2021 and 2022, our scale and financial strength allowed us to continue our capital investment programs in support of Macao’s diversification and long-term development objectives throughout the last three years. These expansion programs included the addition of luxurious new suite offerings at the Grand Suites at Four Seasons, as well as the expansion and transformation of Sands Cotai Central into a new destination Integrated Resort, The Londoner Macao. We believe these new offerings, together with the unrivaled scale of our additional Integrated Resort offerings in Macao, position us exceedingly well to benefit from the travel and tourism recovery that is now underway.
We have also continued to invest in our existing facilities at Marina Bay Sands. Our ongoing $1 billion investment program, designed to meaningfully enhance our suite product offerings and the appeal of our market-leading Integrated Resort in Singapore to premium customers seeking immersive travel experiences, will be completed by the end of 2023. In addition, we remain enthusiastic about our plans for the expansion of Marina Bay Sands in the years ahead. The ongoing recovery in travel and tourism spending in Singapore that began in 2022 will continue during 2023 and the years ahead. We remain optimistic that a full recovery in travel and tourism spending in Singapore will occur, and we look forward to continuing to contribute to the success of Singapore as a leading leisure and business tourism destination.
Additionally, we reached an agreement in March of 2021 to sell our Las Vegas operations and assets for approximately $6.25 billion, and we completed that sale in the first quarter of 2022. The proceeds from the sale enhanced our balance sheet strength and liquidity and enabled us to continue investing in future growth opportunities in both Macao and Singapore, while pursuing additional growth opportunities in new markets.
Looking ahead, we believe we are very well positioned to deliver growth as travel and tourism spending in Asia continue to recover. We look forward to future investment in our properties and communities in both Macao and Singapore. In addition, we believe there are meaningful potential development opportunities in emerging jurisdictions in both the U.S. and elsewhere where capital investment could provide a substantial economic benefit to those jurisdictions while delivering strong returns for the Company.
We remain deeply committed to our mission of enhancing the leisure and business tourism appeal of our host markets, creating local employment opportunities, investing in our people and our communities, and providing growth opportunities for local businesses while protecting our environment. Our success in these areas is only possible through the contributions of our Team Members. They have responded to the challenges and opportunities presented during the last three years with optimism, creativity, and resilience. I am grateful for their efforts.
Thank you for the confidence you have placed in our Company. We look forward to sharing our ongoing success with you in the years ahead.
FELLOW SHAREHOLDERS,
Robert G. Goldstein
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
March 31, 2023
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