Tigre de Cristal Phase II opening in 2022

Monday 26th of August 2019

The second phase of the Tigre de Cristal’s development in the Primorye Gaming Zone in the Russian Far East is now likely to open in early 2022 following changes to its design, owner Summit Ascent said.

Reporting its interim results, Summit Ascent said it had changed the design of Phase II due to input from its new majority shareholder Suncity Group Holdings.

The first stage of Phase II is expected to more than double the existing capacity in guest rooms and gaming facilities. It will also include four restaurants and bars, an indoor beach club, a duty-free shopping mall, and multipurpose MICE facilities.

Earlier this month, Summit Ascent raised HK$297 million ($37.8 million) through a share placement, which will be used to finance the expansion.

Summit Ascent owns 60 percent of Oriental Regent Ltd, the operator of the Tigre de Cristal, which opened in 2015. It was the first integrated resort to open in the Russian Far East.

For the six months to end June, adjusted property EBITDA jumped 62 percent to $66.8 million.

Profit attributable to owners of the company jumped to $42.8 million from $2.6 million, while group revenue was up 24 percent to $257.3 million.

The company said the slot business was the outperformer, up 37 percent to $90.6 million.

The rolling chip business also saw significant improvement with revenue increasing by 69 percent to HK$68.8 million.

The mass business which is conducted in roubles was hit by weakness in the Russian currency when translated back into Hong Kong dollars.

Three other operators are moving forward with their development plans in the zone and Summit Ascent expects to feel the benefits of a cluster effect as early as 2021 or 2022.