RFKR gets 1-year delay for S. Korea casino project

Mar 21, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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A casino resort project in the Incheon Free Economic Zone in South Korea has been given a 12-month postponement of its first-phase opening deadline. The information was confirmed to GGRAsia by the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZA).

The casino project is being developed by an entity called R&F Korea (RFKR), linked to Hong Kong-listed Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd. The RFKR Resort (pictured in a file photo), a complex due to have a foreigner-only casino, had its first-phase opening delayed to March 17, 2023.

IFEZA said the extension had been approved by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The terms agreed between the ministry and the casino resort developer have not been disclosed.

The RFKR Resort – planned for Yeongjong Island, the home of South Korea’s main air hub at Incheon – had been granted in March 2021 a one-year postponement to “March 2022” on its first-phase opening. As of March this year, the project was yet to announce a gaming operator partner. The United States-based casino brand Caesars had originally been involved, but withdrew.

Hong Kong-listed Guangzhou R&F has been facing liquidity challenges as a large amount of the group’s short-term debt is maturing in 2022. The company has planned a number of asset sales to meet some of its upcoming maturities. Despite the efforts, Fitch Ratings Inc said recently that it expected Guangzhou R&F’s “access to funding could remain limited.”

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