(Hong Kong, Aug 25, 2005) -- The luxurious 6-star casino-hotel project being built by Melco International Development Limited ("Melco" or the "Group", HKSE Code: 200) and its exclusive Pan-Asian joint venture partner, Australia's Publishing and Broadcasting Limited ("PBL"), will be named "Crown Macau".

Located on the island of Taipa, and constructed at a projected cost of HK$1.5 billion, Crown Macau will be the first 6-star casino-hotel project in Macau. The casino is scheduled to open in the second half of 2006 and the full project will be completed in the first half of 2007.

The joint venture partners intend to operate Crown Macau drawing on the marketing expertise and the strong brand name of the Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne, Australia.

The Crown Entertainment Complex, owned by PBL, is one of the world's leading casino-hotel resorts specialising in the premium leisure and hospitality industries.

Crown's marketing strengths will be combined with Melco's undoubted local expertise in the gaming and leisure industries in Hong Kong and Macau.

Mr Lawrence Ho, Group Managing Director of Melco , said, "Branding is very important in our business, particularly in view of the fact the majority of our potential customers is expected to be Mainland Chinese, who are extremely brand conscious. Crown Melbourne 's appeal to Mainland Chinese cannot be overstated. Having our Macau hotel managed with the expertise of PBL will guarantee that the same high standard of service and product offered at Crown in Melbourne can be offered to our VIP patrons in Macau. In addition, substantial cross marketing and cross referrals will be made possible between the two destinations."

Mr Ho said the hotel component of the casino-hotel project was originally to be managed by the Hyatt Group under the Park Hyatt brand name.

Mr James Packer, Chairman of PBL , said that he was delighted to be taking the Crown brand to Macau. "Macau is the world's most dynamic gaming market, and we are excited about the opportunity to work with our partner Melco to develop a first class casino hotel that sets new standards of quality in the market."

"Crown has many loyal customers in North Asia and we look forward to offering them the same high standards of accommodation and service at Crown Macau that they receive at Crown in Melbourne." Mr Packer said.

Targeting high rollers and big spenders from all over the world, Crown Macau will also embrace various entertainment facilities, including a number of elegant and unique restaurants and a luxury spa center. Standing tall at 160 metres, it will be the highest building on Taipa island. With a total construction area of 106,000 square metres, the casino-hotel will comprise 227 deluxe VIP guest rooms, of which 26 will be VIP suites and 8 will be presidential villas.

Spacious and set in luxurious decor, the 32-storey complex will include a 6-storey up-market casino with a total gaming space of around 17,000 square metres, housing 200 gaming tables and over 1,000 slot machines.

About Melco International Development Limited
Melco International Development Limited is an actively managed conglomerate with 3 main lines of business, spearheaded by Leisure, Gaming & Entertainment. The Group's main gaming activities are conducted via an exclusive joint venture with one of Australia's largest conglomerates and gaming groups - Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd, "PBL". The Melco/PBL joint venture's three main gaming assets are, namely, Crown Macau, The City of Dreams and Mocha. "Crown Macau" is the first 6-star casino-hotel in Macau and is targeted at high rollers. The "City of Dreams" is a world-class integrated entertainment resort, to be built on 27 acres of land in Cotai, featuring an underwater casino. It comprises 3 hotels offering a total of 2,000 hotel rooms in addition to time-sharing serviced apartments, iconic theatres for permanent shows, retail and restaurant outlets, and nightclubs. The Mocha Slot Lounges, on the other hand, presents slot machine parlours in a unique cafe setting. They have been highly successful and dominate the grind market in Macau.

In Hong Kong, Melco carries on the tradition of operating the world famous floating landmark - Jumbo Kingdom. The Group has two other supporting businesses in the Technology and Investment Banking areas.

The Group's technology business is represented by Elixir Group (Macau), a leading gaming IT infrastructure and system integration specialist, and iAsia - the software developer that is also a leading provider of comprehensive financial trading systems in Asia.

The investment banking and financial services business is conducted via the Group's Hong Kong listed subsidiary - Value Convergence Holdings Ltd. Melco has grown substantially in recent years and has opened offices in Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Manila, employing a total of over 800 staff.