LET Group seeks financing to finish its Westside City Project
The Westside City project is set to open in 2024 and will feature 460 five-star rooms and a casino catering to both mass and VIP markets.
The Philippines.- LET Group Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Suntrust Resort Holdings, has announced it is seeking financing to complete the development of its Manila hotel and casino project.
The company’s chairman, Andrew Lo Kai Bong, disclosed the information in LET Group’s annual report for 2022. The report, published on Thursday (April 25), revealed that the company’s revenue was up 34 per cent on year-on-year terms to HK$394.3m (US$50.23m). It also posted an annual loss attributable to shareholders of just under HK$408.8m (US$52.1m).
The US$1bn project is set to include 400 gaming tables and 1,200 slot machines, 450 five-star hotel rooms and 960 parking spaces covering 44,000 square metres. In addition to the hotel and casino, the company is also developing the Westside shopping mall and an opera house.
According to Lo, local banks’ approval of the project is crucial as it can serve as a confidence boost to investors, given their familiarity with the local business environment. LET Group had originally hoped for a 2023 opening for its Westside City Project but the date was pushed back to 2024 last November.
Lo also confirmed that developing the mass-market segment would be a crucial aspect of the project, as it presents a significant growth opportunity for LET Group. The Philippines’ gaming market has significant potential, with local Filipinos and expatriate patrons contributing more than one-third of the country’s gross gaming revenue.
LET Group has also said that it is in the planning stages of Phase II of its Hoiana casino resort in Vietnam. The company also has a stake in the Integrated Entertainment Zone of the Primorye Region called Tigre de Cristal. However, the Phase II development of the project has been put on hold due to the current commercial climate in Russia, which poses difficulties in guaranteeing a consistent return on investment.
