Landing International has said theywill "proceed as planned" with the NayonLanding resort development inManila, the Philippines, despite negative statements from the country's President.
The $1.5-billion project will be called NayonLanding. It will include a hotel, resort and casino in Parañaque City. Developers broke ground on Tuesday. It is set to begin operating in the first quarter of 2022.However the Philippines President Duterte has pushed back. He has fired the entire board ofNayong Pilipino Foundation - the agency that secured the deal with Landing International. He also called the deal“grossly disadvantageous” to the government.
A day later, at a speech at the National Police Headquarters, the President is reportedto have said:"I hate gambling, I do not want it. There will be no casinos outside of what is existing. I'm not granting anything."
Referring to Landing International's development, he said: "You don't give gambling license franchises for 75 years."
However Landing International says the lease is not 70 years. In a statementthe company says: "The Lease ... is for a term of twenty-five (25) years renewable for another twenty-five (25) years, and not seventy (70) years."
Landing clarifies the terms of the lease as a monthly rental of 360 Philippine Pesos per squaremetre, equivalent to a total monthly rent of 34,460,640 Philippine Pesos. Nayong Pilipino Foundation, Inc. (NPF) will receive an additional monthly rental equivalent to ten percent ofthe net profit after tax from the operations of the theme parks within the Project.
The company states that they have no reason question the legal validity of the lease, and that the development should proceed as planned.
NayonLanding to boost Asian presence
NayonLanding will house an indoor cultural park and water park. It will also feature Asia’s first and largest themed movie theater.The resort will have at least 1,500 luxury rooms, a convention centre with a 4,000-seater grand ballroom for large-scale events and conferences. There will be a retail mall and a casino.
It is hoped that NayonLanding will boost Landing’s presence in Asia, after Jeju Shinhwa World, its integrated resort in South Korea, opened in March.
Since the progressive opening of Jeju Shinhwa World in 2017, the resort has received many domestic visitors and foreign guests. Landing International has seena surge in revenueand net profits. The increase in revenue is mainly dueto the significant increased revenue contribution from its gaming business in Jeju, South Korea, after its Landing Casino was relocated to Jeju Shinhwa World on 25 February 2018.
Images courtesy of Landing International
Duterte vows no new casinos, as Chinese investors push on - Nikkei Asia
