More Asian companies eyeing the islands
Chinese investment firm Yida International has signed a memorandum of agreement with the government of Antigua and Barbados in the Caribbean to build a $2 billion mixed-use leisure complex that will be even larger than Baha Mar in the Bahamas.
The plan calls for five hotels, 1,300 private residences, a golf course, a conference center, a marina and other attractions spread across 1,500 acres on Antigua’s Guiana Island, two smaller islands and a neighboring peninsula, the company announced.
The deal was inked the same day Antigua swore in a new Labor government led by Prime Minister Gaston Browne. Browne has “promised the people that my administration would bring the type of investments” that would transform Antigua into “an economic powerhouse,” according to news reports.
The deal calls for Yida to invest more than $200 million a year in the local economy over the next 10 years, and could attract additional investments from Chinese business interests.
Chinese companies have already invested heavily in the Caribbean economy. The Import-Export Bank of China is putting up most of the financing for the $3.5 billion Baha Mar, which will open its first phase in December with 1,000 hotel rooms and a 100,000-square-foot casino. China State Construction Engineering Corp., the country’s largest builder, is the general contractor and a limited investor and is employing thousands of workers from China at the site.
The Bahamas has expanded its international airport to meet anticipated demand and negotiated 30-day visa free access to the island nation for Chinese travelers. Baha Mar parent Baha Mar Resorts has opened a business development office in Hong Kong and plans to reach out to wealthy Asians in North and South America and Europe.
Malaysia-based resort conglomerate Genting is also expanding in the region through its Resorts World Bimini complex, located about 50 miles from Miami.
