Udenna mulls IPO for Cebu project

Sunday 17th of December 2017

Udenna Corp hopes to begin construction of a resort on Cebu soon and is considering an initial public offering, or backdoor listing, to fund the project, local media reported, citing Raymundo Martin Escalona, the company’s director for special projects.

“We’re waiting for the ECC (Environmental Clearance Certificate) before we can do initial excavation. We’re told the ECC will hopefully be out before Christmas because we complied, we submitted everything,” Escalona was cited as saying.

“We are looking at an IPO or backdoor listing,” Escalona said.

Udenna got the go-ahead from market regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) in May to build the $341 million Emerald Resort & Casino on a prime beachfront location in Mactan Island.

The casino is targeting both foreign and local players including Singaporeans, Koreans and Chinese.

“There’s a huge Korean market already in Mactan. That will be a natural market because they currently go to Cebu,” Escalona said.

Pagcor has ruled out granting any further licenses in Entertainment City in Manila for the next five years to protect the investment of the initial developers there. However, it has said it is keen to see resort hubs in other regional locations in the Philippines, such as Cebu.

Bricks & Mortar IR License IPO Cebu Funding