GGRAsia – Suncity listco gives share of US$34mln loan for Hoiana

Suncity listco gives share of US$34mln loan for Hoiana

Jan 08, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

A unit of Suncity Group Holdings Ltd is to lend just over US$17 million to the promoter of the under-development Hoiana casino resort in Vietnam, as part of a US$34-million loan to the scheme.

Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group Holdings is controlled by Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, the boss of Macau VIP gambling junket brand Suncity Group.

The Suncity brand is one of the investors in the Hoiana casino scheme (pictured in a promotional model), and the group’s listed company is to manage casino operations there, according to a May filing to the Hong Kong bourse. Hoiana has been described in press releases related to the project as a US$4-billion, multi-phase development.

It has been anticipated a first phase will open this year, although – at least when it launches - it will have no permission from the national government to allow economically-qualified Vietnamese players to gamble there.

In August 2018, Suncity Group Holdings said it had completed a deal that gave it a 34-percent share in the Vietnam casino scheme.

In a Tuesday filing, the listco said that its unit Star Admiral Ltd – an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) – would advance US$17 million to the Hoiana scheme’s promoter, Gold Yield Enterprises Ltd, another BVI firm. The latter is 50 percent owned by Star Admiral and 50 percent by Alpha Era Investments Ltd, a BVI entity described as an “independent third party” relative to Suncity Group Holdings.

Suncity Group Holdings said in its Tuesday announcement to the Hong Kong bourse: “In light of the increasing demand for tourism-related business in the Southeast Asia region, the board holds a positive outlook for the project in the future and it is expected that the group will benefit from the future success of Gold Yield Enterprises.”

The parent group is also involved in “provision of hotel and integrated resort general consultancy service in Vietnam and Cambodia,” noted the filing.