Construction to be complete by next September
Lotte Tour Development Co., promoter of the planned Jeju Dream Tower Casino Resort on Jeju Island, South Korea, has raised $35.4 million for the project with an issue of convertible bonds through a third-party placement, GGRAsia reports. Lotte Tour says the proceeds will be used to acquire a foreigners-only casino license and also be used as operating capital.
“The successful issuance of convertible bonds with an exceptional condition—despite the financial market uncertainty due to North Korea’s nuclear crisis—is a result of high growth potential of Jeju Dream Tower Integrated Resort, which will become a key tourist attraction in Jeju,” a statement from the company said.
The project is going up less than two miles from Jeju International Airport. Lotte Tour owns 59 percent of the project including the hotel, the gaming area, a shopping mall and an observation deck. The rest is owned by the Greenland Group, a Chinese real estate firm. The contractor is the China State Construction Engineering Corp., which says it will complete the project by September 2019.
Grand Hyatt will operate the hotel’s 1,600 rooms, 11 restaurants and bars, and all other hotel amenities, reported the Asia Gaming Brief. It will be the world’s second-largest Hyatt hotel.
“With the solid partnership that has been formed between the Greenland Group, China’s largest property developer and co-developer of this project, China State Construction Engineering Corp., the world’s largest construction company and main contractor who provided an unconditional completion guarantee, and Grand Hyatt as hotel operator, Jeju Dream Tower Integrated Resort is expected to become a major tourist destination on Jeju Island,” said Ki-byung Kim, chairman of Lotte Tour Development. “It will also create 3,000 jobs including hoteliers and casino dealers, and contributes tens of billions of Korea won to Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund every year.”
