Robinsons Land shares up on talks with Okada group

Manila, Philippines -  Shares of Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) climbed nearly four percent yesterday following the company’s disclosure it is in talks with Japanese pinball magnate Kazuo Okada for a possible joint venture involving a $2-billion gambling resort at the Entertainment City in Manila.

RLC hit an intraday high of P18.60 yesterday, just shy of its 52-week peak of P18.86. It closed at P18.20 per share.

Frederick Go, president of RLC, said negotiations are ongoing between the company and the group of Okada but emphasized that no agreement has been signed yet.

“It’s all talks. We have not signed anything,” Go said.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, RLC said it was usual for them to “explore and evaluate investment opportunities” to accelerate growth.

RLC is the property arm of taipan John Gokongwei that is involved in the development of shopping malls, office buildings, hotels, residential buldings and condominiums.

The deal, when it materializes, will give RLC another prospect for growth in a market that is seen to take business from Singapore and Macau.

Brokerage firm CLSA estimates gambling revenue in the Philippines will grow from $1.3 billion in 2011 to $3 billion in 2015 once three new casinos are completed.

Okada, who made a fortune in pachinko (a mix between slots and pinball that generates $250 billion in revenues annually), is building his own casino in the fast-growing gambling destination of the Philippines that is expected to be up and running by 2014.

Locked in a bitter dispute with his former partner, Las Vegas gaming mogul Steve Wynn, Okada aims to be the number one casino player in the world as he diversifies his core pachinko business. He is also negotiating to build a casino resort in South Korea.

Earlier reports said Okada, through Universal Entertainment Corp., was considering the support of private investors for its casino venture in the Philipines as he builds a string of his own restaurants in Asia.

Casino operators are racing to conquer the Asian casino market, which is seen to emerge as the leading gaming region. A report by

PricewaterhouseCoppers said revenues from casino gaming in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to grow from $34.3 billion in 2010 to $79.3 billion in 2015, representing a compound annual growth rate of 18.3 percent.