Australia’s Crown Resorts is joining forces with Chinese property developer Greenland on its bid to develop a resort casino in the Queensland capital of Brisbane.
Crown is vying for the license, one of three the state is making available, with rival Echo Entertainment, which is partnering on a competing bid with a Chinese consortium led by retail jewelry giant Chow Tai Fook. Greenland also had been one of the bidders.
Queensland is offering the licenses in an effort to boost tourism to the state from Asia and China and revive an ailing economy. The state already has given preliminary approval to a mixed-use resort complex on the north coast near the Great Barrier Reef planned by Hong Kong financier Tony Fung and one at the popular resort city of Gold Coast by China’s state-owned ASF China Property Consortium, which plans to develop docking for cruise ships.
Crown’s bid includes a six-star hotel the company will manage along with the casino, while Greenland will be the sole owner and developer of the resort’s residential, retail and commercial real estate components.
“I have no doubt that this consortium has the track record and can deliver for Brisbane an iconic tourist, entertainment and residential precinct that is globally recognized and embraced by the local community,” Crown CEO Rowen Craigie said.
Greenland, a Fortune 500 company, has A$1.4 billion worth of residential projects under management in Australia.
