Could it be that Kazuo Okada’s grand plans in the Philippines are beginning to unravel?
Ok, it still might be a little premature to think of it that way, but a lot of people were certainly caught off guard when Okada, though his subsidiaries in the Philippines, decided to drop its partnership with Century Properties Group for the development of the $2-billion Manila Bay Resorts in Entertainment City.
Nobody saw that one coming, including, as it turns out Century Properties.
The surprising announcement was made in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange after Century Properties confirmed that it had received a notice of termination from Eagle I Landholdings Inc, Eagle II Holdco Inc and Brontia Limited. Incidentally, Eagle I, owns the land where Manila Bay Resorts is being built on, is owned by Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment Corp, which in turn holds Okada’s casino license in the Philippines, is likewise owned by Okada’s parent company in Japan, Universal Entertainment Corp.
As far as Eagle I’s reasoning for dropping Century Properties, the company was curt in its response to GMA News, opting only to say that the investment agreement was executed by three parties. But since one of the three parties withdrew from said agreement, the company thought best to stop the negotiations.
“Therefore, we sent a notice of termination to Century Properties.”
Not surprisingly, the news didn’t sit well with Century Properties, which is now in the process of pursuing legal action against Okada’s company with the understanding that the notice of termination it received was not only premature, but is also unfounded on the grounds that it lacks legal and contractual basis. The timing of the termination notice is even more perplexing since Century Properties already sent a notice of dispute to Eagle 1, Eagle II and Brontia on March 21, essentially triggering a mandatory 21-day discussion period. Apparently, Eagle I’s response to that “discussion” was to cut ties with its partner.
What’s becoming a little clear is that changes were made from the original agreement between the two sides, something Century Properties director for investor relations Kristina Garcia said came from Okada’s group. “It was more on the exclusivity to do the residential and commercial…which we did not sign, because what we wanted was the original structure that they proposed,” Garcia told local reporters.
In the end, Century Properties is still open to mending fences with the Okada group with the hopes of proceeding with the project in the event the dispute is resolved. But based on Eagles I’s recent history with land developers in the Philippines, that ship is more and more likely to have already sailed.
After all, this is the same company that couldn’t come to an agreement with two land developers last year, namely Robinsons Land Corp. and Empire East Land Holdings. Is it fair to assume that Okada is going to add another failed partnership in his dealings in the Philippines?
Looks like it from our vantage point.
