The list of Filipino tycoons getting involved in Pagcor’s Entertainment City project is growing by the numbers. To date, Henry Sy, Andrew Tan, and Enrique Razon are all in the process of building their crown jewels in Entertainment City. Last month, we reported that there were talks between Tan, John Gokongwei Jr, and Kazuo Okada for a joint venture in building the Japanese tycoon’s $2 billion casino Tiger Resorts project.
But with Tan’s Empire East Land Holdings Inc. (ELI) company having already signed an agreement with Okada’s Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc. to build a 12.95-hectare luxury residential resort condominium at Entertainment City, it appeared that Gokongwei’s involvement in the project was being scuttled out the door.
But Lance Gokongwei, the son of the patriarch “Big John”, recently talked with Philippine news network ANC to clarify that talks with Okada have not collapsed and that they’re still on-going with the hopes of an agreement being struck before 2012 ends.
Meanwhile, the elder Gokongwei, the man responsible for building JG Summit, has made it clear that he’s going to keep his hands off of the proposed project, opting instead to to let his children move forward in trying to look for new opportunities to expand its business.
“That is done by the second generation, Lance… I have nothing to do with that,” Big John said, as quoted by the abs-cbnnews.com.
The elder Gokongwei’s intention is to sit back and let his kids work on securing the deal on their own, acting only as a sagely advisor should his children seek his counsel on the matter. “I have not been asked for advice but they will come sooner or later… When they come for advice, then I’ll have to look at the feasibility studies before I give any advice,” Big John said.
It’s nice to hear that the family patriarch has put a certain level of responsibility in the hands of his children to expand the family empire. The onus is now on Lance Gokongwei to ensure that whatever agreement he enters with Kazuo Okada, it’s something pops would be in favor of.
