GGRAsia – Landing mulls funding re Jeju casino project

Landing mulls funding re Jeju casino project

Dec 15, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Hong Kong-listed investment firm Landing International Development Ltd said it is “actively considering” options to raise funds to complete the acquisition of the remaining 50-percent stake in a casino project under construction on Jeju Island in South Korea.

Landing International has agreed to pay US$420 million for the 50-percent stake held by Genting Singapore Plc. Genting Singapore announced last month it was selling its participation in the Jeju Shinhwa World project – previously known as either “Myths and History Park” or “Resorts World Jeju” – in order to focus on other projects, including a potential investment in Japan.

“After recent review of the group’s financing needs … the company is actively considering the conduct of equity fund raising and the fund raising methods available to the company, including rights issue,” Landing International said in a filing on Wednesday.

Landing International had previously said that it would be “advantageous” for the company to obtain 100-percent control of the development and management of the Jeju project, as it would “enjoy the absolute economic benefits from its entire future earnings”.

In Wednesday’s filing, the Hong Kong-listed firm said it would still discuss with financial institutions and its controlling shareholder “the various equity financing possibilities available”.

Landing International reported a loss of HKD526.5 million (US$67.9 million) for the six months to June 30, compared to a loss of HKD143.9 million in the prior-year period. Revenue rose 307.7 percent year-on-year to HKD445.3 million, positively affected by the firm’s gaming operations. The gaming segment reported a profit of HKD82.1 million in the first six months of 2016.