Landing Int plans Jeju groundbreaking on Feb 12

Feb 02, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Mainland China real estate developer Landing International Development Ltd on Sunday said there would be a groundbreaking ceremony on February 12 for its new casino project to be located on Jeju Island in South Korea (pictured). It will be called ‘Myth-History Park’.

“The board is pleased to announce that Landing Jeju Development Co Ltd, a direct non-wholly owned subsidiary of the company, will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on 12 February 2015 in Jeju, Korea to mark the official start of the construction work of the Myth-History Park project,” stated Landing International in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

According to building permits granted by the Jeju government, Landing Jeju is permitted to develop and construct “a gaming and integrated resort with a total gross floor area (GFA) of approximately 306,763 square metres [3.30 million sq. feet]” added the filing.

It would include “premium hotels and villa hotel and other conferencing and exhibition facilities, a gaming facility, a theme park and shopping and other entertainment and tourism facilities” plus condominiums, villas, bungalows and other accommodation facilities with a GFA of approximately 132,265 square metres.

Landing International in July described the development as a US$2.2 billion project. Under current South Korean law only foreigners will be allowed to use the gambling facilities. The filing didn’t mention an opening date for the facility.

In the July filing, the firm said it would use about HKD320 million (US$41.3 million) of HKD600 million raised from share subscriptions for investment in Jeju.

On December 15 Landing International stated it would buy a controlling interest in an existing South Korean casino – Alpensia casino at Holiday Inn Resort in Pyeongchang. The community of Pyeongchang, in the country’s Kangwon province, will host the Olympic Winter Games in February 2018.

On January 18, another South Korean casino-hotel controlled by Landing International – Hyatt Regency Jeju Hotel – was reopened after a revamp. The casino is owned by Grand Express Korea Co Ltd, a 50-50 joint venture with Genting Hong Kong Ltd, a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd.

The number of Chinese tourists to South Korea grew 46 percent in 2014, to 6.33 million. International investors have identified the country as a likely continued growth area for casino tourism from China. The South Korean government on January 18 said it might grant two new casino licences for major projects.

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