Hotel Shilla, the luxury accommodation affiliate of South Korea's biggest conglomerate Samsung, has been chosen as the preferred bidder for a duty-free store at the Macau International Airport, company officials said Monday.

"We are discussing the terms with the airport. The final decision is expected early next month," said a company official.

Hotel Shilla, which operates a namesake duty-free business, The Shilla Duty Free Shop, had bid for the deal with its partner, Sky Connection, which operates liquor and tobacco duty-free shops in Hong Kong.

Under the deal, Hotel Shilla will operate a 1,000-square-meter space at the Macau International Airport for five years starting in November. The Macau duty-free store is expected to specialize in cosmetics, liquor and tobacco, according to the official.

With the Macau store, Hotel Shilla would be operating two overseas duty-free shops.

On Oct. 1, the company is set to open a 6,600-square-meter duty-free shop at the Singapore Changi Airport that specializes in cosmetics and perfume products.

The Singapore store is expected to reap more than 4 trillion won (US$3.9 billion) in revenue during its six-year contract. (Yonhap)