A subsidiary of casino junket operator SunCity Group is set to acquire a 34 percent stake in a casino project in the Quang Nam province of Vietnam.
In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Goal Summit Ltd., will buy the entire equity interest in Star Admiral Ltd. from Suncity International Holdings Ltd. for a total consideration of HK$600 million (US$76.8 million), payable through a HK$303 million promissory note, as well as a HK$297 million convertible bond.
Star Admiral indirectly owns 34 percent—or about 50,000 shares—of Hoi An South Development Ltd., which is developing the Hoi An South Integrated Resort in a joint venture between SunCity, Vietnam-based asset management company VinaCapital Group and Gold Yield Enterprises Ltd., a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd.
Goal Summit, meanwhile, is chaired by Macau junket investor Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, who, incidentally, is also the owner of Suncity International Holdings, according to the filing.
“Through the acquisition, the group could acquire interests in the project and thereby tap into the promising tourism sector, as well as the potentially expanding gaming market, in Vietnam, in line with the group’s objective to develop tourism-related business in the country,” SunCity said in its filing.
So far, the Hoi An South Development had invested an estimated US$89 million to build the first phase of the integrated resort. The project will comprise of seven phases: the first phase will have a casino featuring 140 gaming tables and about 1,000 slot machines, as well as a golf course, hotel rooms and suites and a condo-hotel.
The first phase of the Quang Nam project is expected “to be completed on or before mid-2019,” the casino junket investor said.
“The group is confident on the outlook [of] the tourism sector in Vietnam and believes there will be an increasing demand for resort facilities in popular tourist destinations [in] the country, including Quang Nam province, which has received almost a quarter of the country’s total number of foreign visitors in 2016,” the company said.
