HK firm’s $1.5-B gaming complex OKd
Hong Kong-listed Landing International Development Ltd. announced that it had won the Duterte administration’s blessing to build and open a $1.5-billion integrated gaming resort in Entertainment City Manila by 2022.
In a filing in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said a provisional license was granted by regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to wholly owned subsidiary Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp.
It said the project, to be called NayonLanding, would rise on a 9.6-hectare lot in Entertainment City, which sits on reclaimed property along Manila Bay and where three out of four licensees have opened massive casino resorts.
Landing International’s project will feature a convention center, luxury hotels and a Filipino cultural theme park. It will also have a 28,000-square-meter casino, including what it called a “sky casino” for high rollers.
This came even as Pagcor announced a moratorium on new casino applications at the start of the year.
The freeze took effect on Jan. 13, 2018, on orders from President Duterte, who reportedly expressed concerns about their proliferation.
The granting of a provisional license to Landing International further highlighted inconsistent policy views within the Duterte administration on gaming.
Pagcor earlier this year granted two licenses for Boracay Island as the government was finalizing a six-month shutdown and rehabilitation effort that started on April 26. In response to public criticism, Mr. Duterte said he would not allow a casino to be built in Boracay.
Entertainment City itself has four licensees—Solaire Resort and Casino, City of Dreams Manila and Okada Manila. A fourth project, Resorts World Manila, has yet to begin construction.
Landing International said in its announcement that a regular casino gaming license would be issued by Pagcor upon the completion of the integrated resort and subject to its compliance with other requirements. It said the license would be valid through July 11, 2033.
“The master development plan of the integrated resort, which includes the number of gaming tables, slot machines and electronic table games within the casino, has not been finalized,” the company noted in its stock exchange filing.
It plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 7.
Landing International’s major project is the Jeju Shinhwa World in South Korea. It held its grand opening on March 22.
