Casino investors top Forbes Philippines’ 50 Richest list
The latest Philippines’ 50 Richest list compiled by Forbes includes several casino investors.
The Philippines.- Forbes has released its latest Philippines’ 50 Richest list, including several figures from the gambling industry.
At the top of the list, with consolidated total assets of US$16.6bn, are the six children of Henry Sy, the tycoon who died in January 2019. The family’s tourism and leisure developer Belle Corp is a co-licensee of City of Dreams in Manila.
The company recently reported that first-half gaming revenue was up 225 per cent year-on-year to PHP805.5m (US$16.1m) as operations at City of Dreams Manila improved.
Enrique Razon remains at number three in the list with total assets of US$5.8bn, down from US$4.3bn previously reported. Razon chairs the casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, which operates the Solaire Resort and Casino in Entertainment City, Manila.
Meanwhile, Andrew Tan fell two places to the eighth spot on the ranking despite seeing his assessed assets rise by US$300m to US$2.6bn.
The chief executive officer and vice chairman of Tan’s Global-Estate Resorts (GERI) has announced a project for a casino resort on Boracay Newcoast. He has said he intends to go ahead with the plan despite opposition from residents and environmental groups.
In 27th position is Dennis Uy, founder of Udenna Corp, a parent firm of PH Resorts Group Holdings. The casino operator recently raised nearly PHP599.2m (US$11.9m) through the selling of shares by Udenna in order to continue developing its Emerald Bay casino resort in Mactan, Cebu.
The second phase, which will add more than 700 electronic gaming machines and 146 additional gaming tables, is slated for completion by 2026.
PAGCOR revenue to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022
Andrea Domingo, PAGCOR chairman, has said the casino industry in the Philippines could return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year if the country achieves herd immunity and border restrictions are lifted. She also predicted PAGCOR’s revenues could reach between PHP35bn (US$701.6m) to PHP38bn in 2021.
According to the Philippine Star, Domingo said: “I think we should be able to start recovering by September, but I do not know how fast because the world economy is really down. And you know when you are down, you do not spend money on entertainment and amusement as much as you would during good times.”
Department of Health secretary Francisco Duque III has said he expects the Philippines to achieve a 70 per cent vaccination rate for Covid-19 by February 2022.
