In August 2018, Philippine gaming operator Landing International Development Ltd. broke ground on a US$1.5 billion casino resort in Manila.
But almost immediately after the groundbreaking, President Rodrigo Duterte fired the entire board of Landing’s development partner, the Nayon Pilipino Foundation, claiming the project was the product of a sweetheart deal, and the project was shelved. It remains in limbo, with no official word from the government on its status.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the seeming collapse of the project caused Landing to record a financial loss for 2018, balanced somewhat by a big boost at its Jeju Shinhwa World resort in South Korea. The company said it expects to launch a new resort hotel on the island, Shinhwa Resort, in the second quarter of 2019, adding another 500 rooms for a total of 2,000.
Business on the South Korean island has improved thanks to improving relations between China and Korea, reported CDC Gaming Reports.
Hong Kong-listed New Silkroad Culturaltainment Ltd. is also in development mode on Jeju, kicking off Phase I of a new integrated resort project, Glorious Hill, which will feature a casino, five-star hotels, commercial and residential real estate, a boutique shopping center, a theme park and a golf course.
