Belle allots P6.5 billion for capex this year

MANILA, Philippines - Belle Corp., a high-end leisure developer and gaming firm controlled by the family of retail tycoon Henry Sy, has earmarked P6.5 billion for its capital expenditures this year, the bulk of which would go to a planned $750-million integrated gaming resort complex along Manila Bay.

Belle vice chairman Willy N. Ocier said P5.5 billion of the total capex would be used to develop the casino, hotel, condotel and theater complex Belle Grande Manila Bay located on Roxas Boulevard. The balance of P1 billion will go to new and ongoing real estate development projects in Batangas and Tagaytay.

The casino complex, which will be 100-percent owned by Belle unit Premium Leisure and Amusement Inc. (PLAI), is slated for a soft opening by the second quarter of 2012. PLAI is one of four entities granted a provisional license by the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp. to establish a casino within the area.

The casino complex will house six hotel towers, offering 1,000 rooms including 86 luxury suites, targeted for opening by the fourth quarter of 2013.

Of the six towers, one will be an all-suites hotel catering to the VIP market and junket gaming customers and another will be a four or five-star hotel with 159

rooms, targeted towards the mass market gaming customers.

The remaining four will comprise condotel towers with a total of 466 units to be called Belle Grande Suites.

Belle Grande Manila Bay will have a total gaming area of 19,626 square meters with 350 gaming tables and 1,900 slot machines. The first floor will cater to the mass market while over 6,000 sqm of space will be devoted to VIPs.

Macau-based gaming consultancy firm Asia Pacific Gaming (APG) will provide management expertise given its extensive experience in managing casinos and hotels in South Korea, China, Macau, Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Tahiti, and the United States.

Belle has tapped the HSAI-Raintree Group, which owns and operates the Discovery properties of the Tiu family, to manage the all suites hotel in its integrated resort complex.

Belle and partner Leisure and Resorts World Corp. had committed to invest $1 billion in the integrated entertainment project.

Aside from Belle Grande Manila Bay, Belle will launch two other projects - the 19-hectare Sycamore Heights in Batangas and phase 2 of Nobhill, also in Batangas.