The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), the country’s state-controlled gaming operator, has announced it will sell three tracts of land totaling 34,483 square meters (371,172 square feet) in Laguna, Cavite and Parañaque City. Asking price is PHP3.14 billion (US$61.8 million).
The sale notice specified that winning bidders “shall neither have right nor authority to operate a casino or any other gaming operation” on the sites. In February a spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said his office had made no policy change announcement on a declared January 2018 moratorium on new casinos in the country.
According to the PAGCOR website, Lot 1 is a 16,335-square-meter parcel at the Balibago Complex, Sta. Rosa City, Laguna, with a price of PHP392.0 million.
Lot 2 includes three contiguous lots with a total area of 3,249 square meters in Sitio Bucal, Dasmariñas City, with a price of PHP12.7 million.
The third lot is a 14,889-square-meter parcel at Asiaworld in Barangay Don Galo, Parañaque City, with a price of PHP2.7 billion.
PAGCOR said the disposal of the properties are on an “as is–where is,” cash basis. Prospective buyers must be Filipino citizens, and in the case of a corporation or partnership, 60 percent of its capital must be owned by Filipino citizens, according to the Philippine Star.
In other news in the market, Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group has requested for a waiver to speed up the payment of US$200 million so it can confirm its right to operate a casino complex Westside City Resorts World being developed at Entertainment City.
In October, the group announced its intentions to acquire a controlling share in Suntrust Home Developers Inc. for PHP1.1 billion (US$21.5 million). Suntrust and two other companies, Westside City Resort World Inc. and Travellers International Hotel Group, signed a deal to lease three parcels of land located at Manila Bayshore Integrated City in Paranaque City, where the integrated resort is to be erected.
Suncity specifically requested the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to let it bypass a shareholder vote on the payment to fast-track the deal. Westside and Travellers will lease the area to SunTrust at US$10.6 million a year for 20 years. The resort complex will include a 400-room, five-star hotel and a casino with 400 gaming tables and 1,200 slot machines for both mass and VIP markets.
