Negotiations continue between Hong Kong-based International Entertainment Corp. and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) on IEC’s proposed integrated resort (IR) in Manila.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, IEC won a provisional casino license in September 2020 for a planned expansion of its New Coast Hotel in Manila. That plan changed in July 2021, when IEC announced it would develop an all-new integrated resort featuring “two-to-three sky-high buildings” with gaming and non-gaming amenities. For a time, Covid-19 put the brakes on that concept.
Now PACGOR and Marina Square Properties Inc., an IEC subsidiary, are “negotiating the terms of the draft provisional license agreement, including the development scale and timeline” of the IR, the company said. “The group has not yet identified suitable land to expand the hotel premises, hence the provisional license agreement has yet to be executed.”
In the six months to December 31, IEC posted a loss of HK$6.4 million (US$815,000), down from a HK$136.6 million (US$17.4 million) loss in the second half of 2021. Per IAG, the improvement is due in part to increased gaming revenues at the New Coast Hotel, which soared 278 percent to HK$59.4 million (US$7.6 million) for the latter period. That’s got IEC’s hopes high as well.
“Following the easing of most of the anti-pandemic measures, the gaming industry and tourism industry in the Philippines have shown significant recovery in 2022,” the statement explained.
“The Philippines government’s supportive policies such as moving public holidays to create long weekends and introduction of a new ‘eTravel’ system to replace the old One Health Pass will further help to boost the tourism. It is hopeful that the Philippines gaming and tourism industries will reach pre-pandemic levels in the near future.”
