Belle to open $350-M casino in Q4
LISTED BELLE Corp., the high-end leisure developer controlled by the family of mall and banking tycoon Henry Sy, has advanced the opening of a $350-million casino complex at the Manila Bay reclamation area to the fourth quarter. Company executives bared this after formally appointing AB Leisure Global, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Leisure and Resorts World Corp., to act as operator and manager of the casino. The management deal will be in effect for 10 years and may be extended, Belle Vice-Chairman Willy N. Ocier told reporters in a briefing on Friday.
"As operator and manager of the casino, AB Leisure shall exercise supervision, direction and responsibility for the operation of the casino operations in behalf of PremiumLeisure and Amusement pursuant to the provisional license issued by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor)," the firm said in a disclosure.
Mr. Ocier said that after paying Pagcor a 25% tax on gross revenues from local gamers and 15% on the VIP junket market or foreign market, Belle will secure 15% of net winnings or 50% of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, whichever is higher.
Commercial operations of the casino portion of the planned Belle Grande Manila Bay will start in the fourth quarter with 100 "special VIP" suites, Mr. Ocier added. Belle earlier said the casino complex would be opened next year. But executives said on Friday the firm had decided to open the casino earlier to take advantage of holiday spending.
PremiumLeisure and Amusement holds a franchise from state-run Pagcor, which allows PremiumLeisure and Amusement to build and operate a casino at the Manila Bay reclamation area, specifically at the 800-hectare Bagong Nayong Pilipino Manila Bay Entertainment City project. The casino will be part of a $1-billion integrated entertainment project to be built by the Sy-led SM group at the Bagong Nayong Pilipino.
"The target for our complex is we will have at least 800 hotel rooms. Hopefully we can ramp up to 1,500 hotel rooms," Mr. Ocier said. There will be 15,000 to 20,000 square meters of gaming floors with 1,600 slot machines and 300 to 325 tables, Mr. Ocier added. The new figures are higher than the initial plan of 500 rooms, 1,500 slot machines, and 250 tables.
Leisure and Resorts World will be investing money on interiors, gaming equipment, working capital and furniture, Manuel A. Gana, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Belle, told reporters.
Mr. Ocier said the Belle casino will aim to grab a slice of the Asian market. "We are not even aiming at the local market that is being serviced well by Pagcor," Mr. Ocier said, adding the company will provide "five-star" amenities to attract players frequenting Macau and Singapore.
An official who asked not to be named said Belle expects P1.5 billion in net income from the casino business in the first full year of operations. In 2009, consolidated profits of Belle jumped by 87% to P385.8 million, the bulk of which came from the real estate business.
Asia Pacific Gaming of Macau was named consultant of the casino project.
On its Web site, Asia Pacific Gaming claims to be a "leader" in gaming consultancy and management services, with clients in South Korea, China, Macau, the Philippines, Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Tahiti, and the Solomon Islands.
Mr. Gana said the company was also in talks with investment banks abroad to bankroll the project. Last November, Belle signed a P5.6-billion loan facility with Banco De Oro Unibank, Inc.
Belle and Leisure and Resorts World wanted to tap entertainment giant Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. for the casino project, but negotiations bogged down in October. Under a five-year development plan, Belle and Leisure and Resorts World will spend $350 million to build the casino complex.
Shares in Leisure and Resorts World went down by P0.33 to P6.85 each on Friday. Shares in Belle fell by P0.19 to P5.60 apiece. -- Neil Jerome C. Morales
"As operator and manager of the casino, AB Leisure shall exercise supervision, direction and responsibility for the operation of the casino operations in behalf of PremiumLeisure and Amusement pursuant to the provisional license issued by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor)," the firm said in a disclosure.
Mr. Ocier said that after paying Pagcor a 25% tax on gross revenues from local gamers and 15% on the VIP junket market or foreign market, Belle will secure 15% of net winnings or 50% of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, whichever is higher.
Commercial operations of the casino portion of the planned Belle Grande Manila Bay will start in the fourth quarter with 100 "special VIP" suites, Mr. Ocier added. Belle earlier said the casino complex would be opened next year. But executives said on Friday the firm had decided to open the casino earlier to take advantage of holiday spending.
PremiumLeisure and Amusement holds a franchise from state-run Pagcor, which allows PremiumLeisure and Amusement to build and operate a casino at the Manila Bay reclamation area, specifically at the 800-hectare Bagong Nayong Pilipino Manila Bay Entertainment City project. The casino will be part of a $1-billion integrated entertainment project to be built by the Sy-led SM group at the Bagong Nayong Pilipino.
"The target for our complex is we will have at least 800 hotel rooms. Hopefully we can ramp up to 1,500 hotel rooms," Mr. Ocier said. There will be 15,000 to 20,000 square meters of gaming floors with 1,600 slot machines and 300 to 325 tables, Mr. Ocier added. The new figures are higher than the initial plan of 500 rooms, 1,500 slot machines, and 250 tables.
Leisure and Resorts World will be investing money on interiors, gaming equipment, working capital and furniture, Manuel A. Gana, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Belle, told reporters.
Mr. Ocier said the Belle casino will aim to grab a slice of the Asian market. "We are not even aiming at the local market that is being serviced well by Pagcor," Mr. Ocier said, adding the company will provide "five-star" amenities to attract players frequenting Macau and Singapore.
An official who asked not to be named said Belle expects P1.5 billion in net income from the casino business in the first full year of operations. In 2009, consolidated profits of Belle jumped by 87% to P385.8 million, the bulk of which came from the real estate business.
Asia Pacific Gaming of Macau was named consultant of the casino project.
On its Web site, Asia Pacific Gaming claims to be a "leader" in gaming consultancy and management services, with clients in South Korea, China, Macau, the Philippines, Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Tahiti, and the Solomon Islands.
Mr. Gana said the company was also in talks with investment banks abroad to bankroll the project. Last November, Belle signed a P5.6-billion loan facility with Banco De Oro Unibank, Inc.
Belle and Leisure and Resorts World wanted to tap entertainment giant Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. for the casino project, but negotiations bogged down in October. Under a five-year development plan, Belle and Leisure and Resorts World will spend $350 million to build the casino complex.
Shares in Leisure and Resorts World went down by P0.33 to P6.85 each on Friday. Shares in Belle fell by P0.19 to P5.60 apiece. -- Neil Jerome C. Morales
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