Hong Kong giant takes over Nam Hoi An casino project

VinaCapital has said that VinaLand Limited is no longer the major shareholder of the Nam Hoi An casino project, in the central province of Quang Nam, but instead is Chow Tai Fook of Hong Kong.

However, VinaCapital still owns 22.55% of the stake and continues to be a strategic shareholder in this project. It will increase the stake to nearly 32% in the near future.

Nam Hoi An is one of the largest tourism property projects in Quang Nam, located in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone. The $4 billion project was initially developed by VinaCapital and Genting Malaysia Berhad, and comprised five-star hotels, villas, and an electronic gaming facility aimed at the foreign tourist market.

However, in September 2012, as the project was in the process of site clearance, Genting suddenly announced its withdrawal, forcing VinaCapital to find other partners to jointly develop the project.

To make it more attractive to prospective investors, VinaCapital proposed that the local authorities reduce the size of the project from 1,538 hectares to a more manageable 1,000 hectares. The developer also asked for permission to extend the project’s lifetime to 50 years since the new investment certificate issuance.

In addition, the developers also asked to add an extra 20 gaming tables to the facility, bringing the total number to 90 for the first phase of this project, matching the number in the Ho Tram Strip project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

The Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd. is a company engaged in property development, hotels, casinos, transportation, jewelry, port and telecommunications businesses

Chow Tai Fook is owned by Cheng Yu Tung's family, the fourth richest man in Hong Kong. This firm is looking for business opportunities in the field of gambling as a growing number of Chinese travel overseas. This family also invested in casinos in Macau, the only place in China where gambling is legal.