HONG KONG // A Hong Kong tycoon has placed the biggest ever order for Rolls-Royce cars.
Stephen Hung has bought 30 Phantoms to chauffeur guests at a luxury resort he is building in the global gambling capital of Macau.
The US$20 million (Dh73.5m) purchase surpasses the 14 Phantoms bought by Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel in 2006.
Mr Hung and Rolls-Royce executives signed the deal on Tuesday at the company’s Goodwood factory in England.
The Extended Wheelbase Phantoms will be used for guests at Mr Hung’s “ultra-luxury” Louis XIII hotel, which is scheduled to open in early 2016.
Rolls-Royce said two of the cars will be the most expensive Phantoms ever commissioned, complete with “gold-plated trimmings” on the outside and interior.
Louis XIII Holdings said it will pay the automaker a $2m deposit, an additional $3m by the end of the year and the remaining $15m when the cars are delivered in the first half of 2016.
The Phantom’s base price in Britain is about $734,000 including taxes, a Rolls-Royce spokesman said.
Prices may vary by market and many buyers order custom features that push prices much higher. Customers have previously spent more than $1m on bespoke models.
With casino revenues of $45 billion last year, Macau is the world’s most lucrative gambling market, outpacing the Las Vegas Strip seven times over.
After authorities ended a casino monopoly a decade ago, newly wealthy mainland Chinese high rollers started pouring in to wager at glitzy new resorts built by foreign operators such as Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts.
However, the boom is beginning to fade as Chinese president Xi Jinping’s corruption crackdown starts to bite, putting a dampener on lavish spending by officials and other wealthy Chinese.
Macau’s gambling revenues fell 6 per cent in August – the third straight month of annual decline after five years of uninterrupted growth.
Mr Hung, a former investment banker, is known for his flamboyant style and the resort looks to be the flashiest of the wave of expansion projects now under construction in the tiny Chinese territory near Hong Kong.
Named after the French king who started building the famed Palace of Versailles, the resort will boast a 1,860 square metre villa billed as the world’s “most extravagant” hotel suite that will reportedly cost $130,000 a night.
Mr Hung has even enlisted a descendant of Louis XIII to help with the hotel’s design, based on French Renaissance and Baroque styling.
* Associated Press
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Brief scores:
Toss: Rajputs, elected to field first
Sindhis 94-6 (10 ov)
Watson 42; Munaf 3-20
Rajputs 96-0 (4 ov)
Shahzad 74 not out
Company%20Profile
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
