Kangwon Land Inc, operator of Kangwon Land (pictured in a file photo) – a resort with the only casino in South Korea open to locals – has decided to acquire some of its stock, a move aimed at “stabilising” its public share price and “improving shareholder value”, the company disclosed in a Friday filing to the Korea Exchange.
It followed a Thursday decision under which Kangwon Land Inc is to acquire a total of 2,405,292 units of its common stock – or approximately 1 percent of the company’s issued shares – at an anticipated cost of KRW40 billion (US$29.5 million), according to the filing and board meeting minute it also lodged with the bourse.
The buyback permission is capped at a daily limit of 320,442 units of common stock, the filing said. The scheduled acquisition period runs from Friday (October 11) to January 10 next year, the update noted.
Kangwon Land Inc is to conduct the exercise via direct purchase on the exchange. It will be handled by NH Investment & Securities Co Ltd, a brokerage.
In April this year the gaming resort operator announced a KRW2.5-trillion new phase for its property. It is due to triple by 2032 the size of its casino space, to 49,500 square metres (532,814 sq. feet). The new phase includes expansion of hotel capacity, as well as investment in other non-gaming facilities.
In early September, it had been announced the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism was to permit an increase in the Kangwon Land resort’s mass gaming area, and an addition in numbers of gaming tables and machines. Local media reports had said casino expansion was likely to be completed in 2028, in the light of certain approvals being required, and the construction of some further non-gaming amenities.
