PH Resorts aims to finish Emerald Bay venue in 1Q 2022
PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc, a Philippine-listed firm controlled by local entrepreneur Dennis Uy, said in its first-quarter results filed on Monday that its Emerald Bay gaming and hotel resort on Mactan island in Cebu should be completed by the group’s relevant units “in the first quarter 2022”.
Construction on the facility at Lapu-Lapu “commenced in December 2017,” noted the filing. PH Resorts’ units LapuLapu Land Corp and LapuLapu Leisure Inc are involved.
“The group expects to commence the hiring process in respect of the Emerald Bay’s gaming and hotel operations and fill a number of managerial and administrative roles within the company’s principal office in the fourth quarter of 2021,” said PH Resorts in its quarterly results lodged with the Philippine Stock Exchange.
The group reported a widened first-quarter net loss attributable to the equity holders of the parent. Such loss was just over PHP138.6 million (nearly US$2.8 million) from just over PHP59.3 million in the equivalent quarter in 2019.
According to the filing, on the Philippines’ main island Luzon, the group will have another resort that will eventually offer gaming. The firm’s Clark Resort will be on land its unit Clark Grand Leisure Corp currently leases from Global Gateway Development Corp. “The project is currently in the design phase,” said PH Resorts in its filing for the three months to March 31.
PH Resorts’ management added in the quarterly report, using a term typically used to describe a casino complex with large-scale non-gaming tourism facilities: “Each of the group’s integrated resorts will be designed, planned and developed according to world-class industry standards.”
The firm added: “These are expected to expand the integrated tourism resort and casino offering in the Philippines.”
The quarterly document reiterated that in May 2017, the national casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) issued a provisional licence authorising LapuLapu Leisure to develop approximately 13.5 hectares (33.4 acres) in Mactan, and to “establish and operate casinos and engage in gaming activities”. The term of the unit’s licence was for a period of 15 years or until May 3, 2032, with renewal possible subject to the terms of conditions of the licence.
In August 2018, Pagcor had issued a provisional licence to Clark Grand Leisure for the development of an “integrated tourism resort and to establish and operate a casino within Clark Freeport Zone,” noted PH Resorts’ quarterly filing.
In a separate Monday announcement to the Manila bourse, PH Resorts said it hoped to raise as much as PHP750 million – about US$15 million – via a follow-on offering of its common shares.
The firm has also authorised an over-allotment option for an unsubscribed portion of its authorised capital stock that could raise as much as an additional PHP375 million.
The follow-on offering involves up to 300 million common shares priced in the range PHP1.00 to PHP2.50. The over-allotment option involves up to 150 million common shares.
The firm said in a Monday filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange that its board had approved the moves.
In October last year, PH Resorts had disclosed in a filing that it had obtained a circa US$43-million advance from a related entity, toward the cost of developing Emerald Bay.
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