Udenna to shift hotel/casino assets to listed unit

Tuesday 26th of June 2018

Privately owned Udenna Corp is planning to shift its hotel and casino assets into a listed unit as it pushes further into the tourism sector in the Philippines.

Shareholders of Philippine H2O Ventures, which is now 62 percent owned by Udenna, on Monday approved a name change to PH Resorts Group Holdings to reflect its increased focus on the sector.

In a press release issued to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company said its primary purpose will to house the tourism-related businesses of Udenna, included two integrate resort and casino projects. One is on Mactan on Cebu island and the other in Clark Global City in Pampanga.

“As we foray deeper into the tourism sector, we hope to usher in a new era of growth for our shareholders,” Udenna Founder and Chairman Dennis A. Uy said. “At the same time, we look forward to supporting the development of the tourism sector, which serves as one of our economy’s growth pillars.”

The company said that the asset transfer has not yet taken place.

The minimum spending for the Mactan casino is $300 million, while Clark requires $200 million.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp has given the company a 2022 deadline to finish the Mactan casino and 2023 for the Clark project. However, it said it hopes to accelerate completion of the latter.

PH Resorts will also be the holding company for two other hotel projects in the works, one in Davao and one in Bohol.