HONG KONG: A Macau court has ruled that a former business partner of Las Vegas Sands Corp, the world’s biggest casino company, can proceed with a lawsuit seeking billions in damages for breaking the terms of their former partnership agreement. In a filing made on March 16, a court in the Chinese southern territory denied Las Vegas Sands a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which alleges that the company, headed by US billionaire Sheldon Adelson, misused trade secrets obtained during their venture. The former partner, a company called Asian American, which is headed by Taiwanese businessman Marshall Hao, is asking for just over 70 per cent of Las Vegas Sands’ profits from 2004 to 2022. Even before taking into account future profits, that would exceed $8 billion on reported profits to 2015, according to Reuters calculations.