City of Dreams Manila’s Philippine partner is in discussions with owners of several parcels of land near the planned Manila Bay megaresort that could be used for expansion.
No details of the talks were released, and PSX-listed Belle Corp. characterized them as preliminary, saying, “No land acquisition transaction is anticipated to close in the near future”.
Belle also owns a 4,000-square-meter plot next to the resort, which is slated to open this fall in partnership with Macau’s Melco Crown Entertainment at a special government-owned resort district called Entertainment City. That Belle site could also be considered for expansion, according to news reports.
Phase 1 of the resort covers 6.2 hectares, while an expansion could add approximately 13 hectares of extra space to a second phase, which is likely to include more retail space and food and beverage outlets and other non-gaming attractions.
Belle said it is also considering selling to the public some of its stake in Sinophil Corp., the division that holds the CoD Manila investment.
“We feel it’s not necessary to own 90 percent. We think 67 to 70 percent is good enough for us,” Belle Vice Chairman Willy Ocier said.
Sinophil is paying PHP12.3 billion pesos (US$286 million) to acquire Belle’s gaming assets, the company said in a recent filing, and another PHP10.8 billion for Belle’s equity interest in the company that holds CoD’s Entertainment City license.
