Hong Kong-listed real estate developer and casino operator Suncity Group Holdings Ltd. has signed a lease agreement for a site that is set to be used for the development of a hotel and casino resort in the Philippine capital, Manila.
Suncity first announced plans to tap into Manila’s gaming market in October 2019. Under the terms of the lease agreement a Philippine subsidiary of the company has recently signed, it will be valid through August 19, 2039 and would renew automatically for another 25 years.
The deal was signed between Suncity subsidiary Suntrust Home Developers Inc as the lessee, and Westside City Resorts World Inc. and Travellers International Hotel Group Inc as the lessors.
Under the lease agreement, Suntrust would pay an annual rent of $10.6 million once the planned resort becomes operational. The rent will be paid in two installments on a semi-annual basis.
Suncity announced its plans to enter the Manila casino gambling market last October. The company said back then in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it had purchased a majority stake in Suntrust in a bid to co-develop and operate a hotel and casino property in Metro Manila.
Westside City Resorts
It became known in October that Suntrust and Westside City Resorts World Inc. to co-develop a complex identified as Westside City Resorts. The recently signed lease agreement states that the lessors agree to lease the scheme to Suntrust which would develop the main hotel casino of the complex.
In addition, Suntrust would be the “sole and exclusive operator and manger of the main hotel casino.”
Suncity is set to pay the initial amount of $200 million to Westside City Resorts World Inc. to develop and operate the resort via its Philippine subsidiary.
The planned hotel and casino complex will be located in Entertainment City in Metro Manila. The area hosts three more casino resorts. Under initial plans, the new property will feature a casino with 400 gaming tables and 1,200 slot machines The gaming floor will welcome both mass market patrons and high rollers.
Suntrust will also run a 400-room hotel. As mentioned earlier, Suncity’s hotel and casino complex will be part of the larger Westside City Resorts scheme.
Commenting on their Philippines expansion campaign, Suncity Executive Director Andrew Lo said last October that “outside of Macau the most decent city for gaming is Manila because of the scale, three international brands and facilities, airport […].”
Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. is another company participating in the new Manila casino resort scheme. It was formed as a joint venture between Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc. and Genting Group’s Genting Hong Kong Ltd. The latter also currently operates the Resorts World Manila luxury integrated resort in the Philippine capital.
Source: Suncity unit signs lease deal for Manila casino scheme
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