Asian junket operator Suncity Group Holdings Limited has reportedly completed its acquisition of a 34 percent stake in the integrated resort complex called Hoiana in central Vietnam.
According to the Macau News Agency, the $76.8 million deal closed September 4 following multiple delays over financing. A Macau-based unit called Goal Summit Ltd. owns all of issued share capital, associated obligations, liabilities and debts of Star Admiral Ltd., which holds the stake in a local entity known as Hoi An South Development Ltd. Project Company.
The $4 billion beachfront development in Quang Nam Province near Da Nang will feature a casino with 1,000 slots and 140 gaming tables; a golf course; water parks; and three hotels. Phase I of the 2,471-acre development is expected to open in mid-2019.
Suncity’s partners in the project are VMS Investment Group Ltd. of Hong Kong and the local branch of global private equity firm VinaCapital Group Ltd. Suncity has set its cap for a Macau casino license after the current six expire in 2020 and 2022. The company plans to become a “pure gaming firm” by 2020, said Executive Director Andrew Lo, who added that he will “be studying how to inject the junket business into the company.”
Based on VIP rolling chip volume and GGR, its Macau junket business is the leading brand in the city. Both Suncity International Holdings and Star Admiral Ltd. are wholly-owned by Alvin Chau, who is also the majority shareholder and an executive director of Suncity Group Holdings.
“The group is confident in the outlook for the tourism sector in Vietnam and believes there will be an increasing demand for resort facilities in popular tourist destinations in the country, including Quang Nam province, which has received almost a quarter of the country’s total number of foreign visitors in 2016,” the company said previously.
