¡¡¡¡MACAO, July 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The Macao Tourism and Amusement Company (STDM), which ran franchise casino business in Macao until2001, reported a 28 percent increase in net profits for last year.

¡¡¡¡The casino giant reaped profits totaling 1.84 billion patacas (230 million US dollars) in the year, Xinhua learned Thursday.

¡¡¡¡The company's total assets reached 35.94 billion patacas (4.49 billion dollars) at the year-end, with debts amounting to 9.87 billion patacas (1.23 billion dollars).

¡¡¡¡The Macao Gaming Company, a subsidiary of the STDM, and two other companies were awarded by local government casino licenses allowing them to start gambling business in Macao as of April 1, putting an end to the 40-year monopoly of the STDM in the sector. Enditem

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