In order to amass enough budget to fund his new grandiose casino resort in Australia, the Hong Kong banker Tony Fung is planning to enlist his development company ‘Aquis’ on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This way he plans to earn more money from the equity markets and then use the funds to continue building the Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort.
The resort is estimated to welcome one million foreign and local tourists each year, bringing billions in revenue. The casino resort will be the biggest in the country, with 340 hectares of land, eight luxury hotels, over 20,000 operational staff and a total budget of $8 billion.
In an interview with an Australian news website, Mr. Tony Fung explained that he wants to establish himself as a strong player in the casino and gambling industry. This way, he will be able to attract more investors for the Cairn’s resort, which currently has 91% from community submissions.
Another way to gather more funds for his endeavor, Mr. Fung adds, is the Cairns Reef Casino. He is about to become its new owner in November 2014. He bought the casino for about $270 million.
Fung’s goal is to earn four times the revenue that the casino is currently earning. This sum is estimated after the exclusion of EBITDA.
Fung hopes that this year the Cairns Reef Casino will bring a $20-million EBITDA margin. ‘I think if we can bring ourselves an EBITDA of $80 million, the chances of us getting it financed without me giving up too much equity would be very high,’ he said.
He further stressed on the importance of receiving external financial help to finish the Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort, which is worth $8 billion. For him, taking the Reef Casino’s ownership and showing that his team can make it generate even better profits is an important step towards creating a positive reputation in the casino and gaming industry.
He shows strong will and conviction that the Reef Casino will pay its initial investment back in the period of two to three years and in this way will earn the trust of investors to support the Aquis casino resort project.
He ended his interview with the AFR by saying ‘As an experienced banker I’ve done many deals, it’s just common business sense and with the experience that I have had over the years to be able to identify an opportunity and analyze it to such an extent that [I feel comfortable]
putting money, if you will, where my mouth is.’
