Belle seeks add’l area in casino complex

MANILA, Philippines - The gaming unit of Henry Sy led conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) is seeking an additional 10 hectares of lot in Pagcor’s Entertainment City to establish a second integrated resort project.

Belle Corp. expects robust earnings leading to the opening by mid-2014 of its $1.3-billion resort-casino joint venture with Macau casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd., company executives said.

“We have asked Pagcor for another 10 hectares that we can lease from them,” Manuel A. Gana, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Belle, told reporters.

He said the additional property would be used to build another integrated resort project in Entertainment City, which is the Philippines’ answer to gaming hubs like Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore.

“If we have to expand, we need to make deals with other land owners,” Gana said.

In March, the local unit of Melco formally inked its partnership with Belle for the 6.2-hectare, $1.3-billion Belle Grande Manila.

Armin Antonio Raquel-Santos, head of Belle’s casino business unit, said the casino complex will offer 20,000 square meters of gaming space and 900 hotel rooms.

“We will be complete as we open. It will have all the entertainment and thematic attractions by that time,” Raquel-Santos said.

Even prior to the casino’s opening, Belle expects hefty income from the project.

“Melco will pay the rent until the whole complex is complete. It is about $35 million of yearly rental,” Raquel-Santos said.

Gana said when the casino operation starts, Belle will get a share of gaming revenues.

Melco co-chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho earlier said that the company is banking on its vast gaming network of Asians, particularly Hong Kong and Chinese visitors, can be diverted to the Philippines.

It will be Melco’s first casino venture outside Macau, where it operates the City of Dreams and Altira Macau casinos. The company is developing its third casino, Studio City, which is slated for opening in 2015.

The project is the first gaming venture of the Sy family, whose holding company SMIC is in five core businesses — retail merchandising, mall operations, property, banking and hotel and leisure.