Reports state Enrique Razon, a Philippine billionaire, is going to buy a South Korean island to develop a new entertainment complex on. This tourism and leisure complex is specifically going to house a gambling operation. South Korea’s tourism is on the rise from individuals coming from China, who are not able to gamble on the Chinese mainland.
The Silmi Island property will also be acquired by Solaire Korea Co. Ltd., a Korean subsidiary company of Bloomberry. Bloomberry also owns and operates Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque, Philippines. Silmi Island is adjacent to the 12.2 hectares property in Muui Island subject of the acquisition agreements that Bloomberry disclosed to the Philippines Security and Exchange Commission on 27 January 2015. The company signed four deals in January regarding Muui Island. The islands are the closest of any to the Incheon Free Economic Zone west of Seoul.
Macau has recently undergone some major downturns due to corruption crackdowns by China. For Asia it is the biggest location for gambling, but a decline of another 8 percent is most likely going to happen according to Bloomberg media.
Analysis shows that South Korea and the Philippines are going to grow 16 and 33 percent, respectively. This is from Chinese gamblers heading to both countries to seek places to try their luck. Approximately 6.1 million Chinese mainland travelers visited South Korea in 2014. This is up 42 per cent from the year before.
Solaire Korea has a deal with Golden and Luxury Company to purchase 92% of their stocks. Golden and Luxury Company operates and owns T.H.E. Hotel and Vegas Casino which is on Jeju Island. Razon told media he is excited for Solaire to be setting up in South Korea.