MANILA, Philippines – Enrique Razon Jr, the Philippines' 8th richest man, plans to build a hotel and casino in Quezon City.
Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, of which Razon is chairman and chief executive officer, confirmed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it will build its second hotel and casino in the Philippines starting 2017.
Bloomberry also operates Solaire Resort & Casino in Parañaque City.
Razon said the mixed-use development will rise on a 15,676-square-meter land that Bloomberry, through its arm Sureste Properties Incorporated (SPI), bought from the National Housing Authority (NHA) for P1.9 billion ($40.50 million).
The land is within Vertis North in Quezon City.
"It would be more similar to Solaire. There may be some mixed-use because there is no height restriction. There will be a casino," Razon was quoted as saying in a news report.
Back in the red
In 2015, the Solaire operator swung back in the red as it posted a net loss of P3.37 billion ($71.83 million) from a P4.07 billion ($84.74 million) net profit in 2014, as expenses grew faster than revenues.
In a separate disclosure to the local bourse, Bloomberry said total revenues grew 7% to P34.35 billion ($732.11 million) in 2015, from P32.11 billion ($684.36 million) in 2014.
But its expenses grew faster, rising by 51% year-on-year to P26.66 billion ($568.20 million) from P17.64 billion ($375.96 million) as the company set aside from large provisions for bad debt, the first-time consolidation of its Korea operations, and the full-year impact of the additional expenses associated with start-up operations of the Sky Tower in Solaire.
"During the year in review, we accomplished much, refurbishment and subsequent re-opening of our first overseas property and the start-up of our first Philippine expansion, the Sky Tower. These projects may have taken a toll on earnings, but were nevertheless essential to ensure continued growth for the company," Razon had told the stock exchange. – Rappler.com
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