Casino investor Suncity Group Holdings Ltd says it has an agreement to sell two groups of wholly-owned subsidiaries, for an aggregate consideration of HKD1.00 (US$0.13). The announcement was made on a filing on Tuesday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Suncity Group Holdings said the disposal was “an opportunity for the group to discharge its obligations to repay the loans and interest thereon” related to those firms. The deal would allow the firm to “recognise a gain on disposal of approximately HKD127.8 million upon completion”.
The purchaser is identified as being Great Promise Developments Ltd, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and controlled by a businessman called Zhong Jianhua. He is linked to one of the lenders to one of the companies being sold, according to Suncity Group Holdings.
The companies to be sold are said to be involved principally in investment holding. One has a subsidiary involved in property development in mainland China.
According to Suncity Group Holdings, the firms up for disposal had unaudited combined net liabilities of HKD541.3 million at the end of last year.
Suncity Group Holdings has interests – via a network of associated businesses – in casino projects in respectively the Philippines and the Russian Far East.
The group ceased the operation of its “travel and related business segment” with effect from April 1.
Suncity Group Holdings slipped to a HKD258.3-million loss in 2021, versus a profit of HKD884.8-million in 2020.
The group said in late November that it was no longer able – as it had in previous years – to rely on the financial support of its former chairman Alvin Chau Cheok Wa.
Mr Chau was detained in Macau in November last year on suspicion of facilitating illegal gambling overseas for Chinese customers.
