On October 29, Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group Holdings Ltd. announced that it will get into the Philippines gaming market with a deal to operate a casino resort in Manila’s Entertainment City. It’s Suncity’s first foray into the growing market.
In a statement, Suncity revealed it has acquired a 51 percent stake in the Philippines’ Suntrust Home Developers Inc (SUN.PS) for PHP 1.1 billion (MOP 174 millions / US$ 21.5 millions). Suntrust plans to co-develop and then manage and operate a five-star hotel and casino in Manila.
“Outside of Macau the most decent city for gaming is Manila because of the scale, three international brands and facilities, airport. Quite convenient,” Andrew Lo, executive director at Suncity, told Reuters.
Suncity was founded in 2007 by Alvin Chau, who started with a single high roller table at Wynn Macau’s casino and has grown the business into what the news agency termed a “sprawling conglomerate” that has penetrated multiple sectors from real estate to autos and has thousands of employees.
Suntrust has signed a deal to develop and exclusively operate the resort, which will include a five-star hotel with at least 400 rooms, around 400 gaming tables and 1,200 slot machines for both mass market and high rollers. The integrated resort is set to open in 2023.
The acquisition will be funded by a HK$1.75 billion loan made to Suncity Group by Star Hope Ltd., a company wholly-owned by Chau, at an annual interest rate of 3.5 percent.
Meanwhile, two Philippines companies, Westside City Resort World Inc. and Travellers International Hotel Group, will lease three parcels of land for the project, located at Manila Bayshore Integrated City in Paranaque City, part of Entertainment City, a gaming and entertainment complex under development by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR).
The deal is subject to the approval of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission, said the announcement to the Hong Kong bourse.
Suncity has been expanding its brick-and-mortar casino business. In April it won exclusive rights to manage the casino and food and drink operations of Hoiana, a new Vietnam casino resort in which it has an equity interest.
Suncity Group and international architecture firm Aedas also are planning to put forward a “tailor-made” project for an integrated resort (IR) in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture. Japan is to permit up to three casino resorts in a first phase of market liberalization.
