Emerald Bay, a casino resort in development in Cebu, the Philippines, observed a major construction milestone last week with the topping-off ceremony of two hotel towers. A project of PH Resorts Group Holdings Ltd., Emerald Bay also got a fresh infusion of funding. In a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PH Resorts reported it will receive about PHP2.83 billion (US$58.9 million) from its parent Udenna Corp., led by Filipino entrepreneur Dennis Uy.
According to GGRAsia, in turn PH Resorts has agreed to issue nearly 1.69 billion of common shares from its previously-unissued capital stock at PHP1.68 per share to Udenna. Last October, the promoter was given permission by the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to PHP756 million via a follow-on offering of as many as 450 million primary common shares at PHP1.68 (US$.035) per share. By November, that goal had been achieved.
In its latest announcement about construction progress, José Angel Sueiro, the firm’s chief operating officer for gaming, stated in prepared remarks: “The topping off of towers A and B represent a significant milestone in the ongoing construction of Emerald Bay.” Work on the façade and interiors are next and will put the company “on the road to open Emerald Bay on time and on budget.” At present, the resort is expected to open in the second quarter of 2022.
Phase I will include a casino with 122 gaming tables for the mass, premium-mass and junket segments and 600 electronic gaming machines. The resort will also have 270 hotel rooms.
The company stated that it hopes for a “soft opening by the end of 2021, and expects to increase its gaming capacity and hotel rooms” starting in 2022.
“Despite a very challenging year caused by the current Covid-19 pandemic, we were able to achieve many project and company milestones,” Uy noted in a statement. “The topping-off of the two towers in Emerald Bay represent a very major tangible and visible milestone in its construction.” He added that Emerald Bay should be “ready by the time we anticipate a marked recovery in the country’s tourism and gaming sector.”
