The $1billion hotel casino

Suncity Group announces US$1billion price tag for their hotel casino inside the Manila IR scheme

The largest junket operator in Asia, Suncity Group Holdings Limited, stated in a Wednesday filing to the Hong Kong Bourse, that its “main hotel casino” at the West side City Project, located in Manila’s Entertainment City, is set to cost approximately US$1 billion. In the , the operator – led by the Macau junket boss Suncity Group Alvin Chau (pictured) – had made an initial payment of US$220 million for the construction and development costs of the Manila casino resort complex.

For financial year ending December 31, 2021, the listed entity is considering raising a further US$280 million via “debt and/or equity financing” to support the project.

Suncity noted in the Wednesday filing, it has flagged another US$500-million tally, and the sources for generating the money for the construction and development costs of the project might involve “equity fund raising”, “loan financing from banks, financial institutions or other parties”, or “debt financing or the like”. Moreover costs such as construction and development for the West side City scheme could possibly change. These costs are dependent on the design and several other factors such as the impact of COVID-19 on the scheme’s progress. The Philippines main source of entertainment revenue has always originated from casinos. Manila’s Entertainment City is also home to Solaire Resort & Casino, City of Dreams Manila and Okada Manila, three of the largest Integrated Resorts in the Philippines.

Gaming impact

The Philippines is a hub for gaming in the Asian region, and is home to a high number of casinos. The industry, regulated by PAGCOR, makes the state-run gaming agency a consistent top dividends contributor to government coffers. PAGCOR generates a significant amount to government agencies, so much so, that the regulator is part of the Billionaires’ Club. These are corporations that are able to contribute over P1billion cash dividends to the government.  Other than direct investment to the government and Philippines’ economy, casinos also contribute directly. The property industry is booming through POGOs, as they account for approximately 83,960 square meters of office space, and employment rate is also very high. This took a slight hit due to the mass exodus late last year but the Philippines still enjoys a high number of casinos especially in Metro Manila. This city has over 20 casinos and houses popular casinos such as the Solaire Resort Casino and City of Dreams Manila Source: GGRAsia

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