By P.R. VENKAT And CHUN HAN WONG
A Malaysian gambling tycoon and his billionaire Filipino business partner are planning to raise more than $500 million from an initial public offering of their Manila casino in the third quarter, two people with knowledge of the deal said Monday.
Gamblers and dealers at Manila's Solaire resort. A nearby casino has plans to go public.
The move to list Resorts World Manila in the Philippine capital would help fund further casino projects by Lim Kok Thay, chairman and chief executive of Malaysia's Genting Bhd., and Andrew Tan, who runs Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc.
The projects include the $1.1 billion Resorts World Bayshore that is being developed by Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., a 50-50 joint venture between Mr. Lim's Genting Hong Kong Ltd. and Mr. Tan's Alliance Global.
Travellers operates Resorts World Manila, which opened in August 2009 and comprises three hotels, a shopping mall, cinemas and a performing-arts theater.
A spokeswoman for Genting Hong Kong declined to comment. An Alliance Global spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The plan to list Resorts World Manila comes as the Philippines vies to become Asia's third-largest gambling hub, after Macau and Singapore, by developing Entertainment City—a 100-hectare (250-acre) development along the Manila Bay area that would be the country's answer to the Las Vegas Strip.
Manila's Solaire resort
The Philippines legalized casinos in the late 1970s, but most of its casinos are run by the government regulator—Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp., or Pagcor—and have none of the glitz that brings in foreign gamblers.
Authorities unveiled plans for Entertainment City in 2007, with hopes to attract Chinese high-rollers and local residents who are benefiting from the archipelago nation's strong economic growth.
The first of Entertainment City's four planned big resorts—the Solaire casino—opened last month, marking the gambling industry debut of international ports billionaire Enrique "Ricky" Razon Jr. A resort by Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. and the Philippines' richest man, property developer Henry Sy, is due to open next year.
Japanese gambling magnate Kazuo Okada hopes to launch his resort in 2014, while Travellers plans to open Resorts World Bayshore at Entertainment City in 2016.
The Philippine government hopes these four casinos will help the country generate at least $5 billion in annual gambling revenue by 2015, after earning $2.1 billion in 2012, Pagcor Chairman Cristino Naguiat Jr. said this year.
Nasdaq-listed Melco Crown said last week its Philippine subsidiary is seeking to raise about $400 million through a share sale, with the proceeds going to fund its investment in its joint casino development with Mr. Sy's Belle Corp.
According to Citigroup gambling analyst Michael Beer, annual gambling revenue in the Philippines could climb to more than $3 billion by the end of 2015, once all four Manila projects are in full swing.
This would still trail the $38 billion gambling industry in the Chinese territory of Macau, but could potentially top the Las Vegas Strip and Singapore markets, which each post revenue of about $6 billion a year.
—Abhrajit Gangopadhyayin Kuala Lumpur
contributed to this article.
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