CEBU CITY – Investors have maintained a bullish outlook on the country’s tourism industry as recovery growth is underway post-pandemic, an industry executive said on Friday.
Gaming veteran Jose Angel Sueiro, chief operating officer of PH Resorts Group Holdings, gave this positive outlook on tourism as their company is keen on the future completion of the Emerald Bay Resort and Casino in Mactan, Cebu.
“Despite continuing fears about Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and with the Delta variant reaching our shores, we are very happy that there are investors that continue to remain bullish on the prospects of the country’s tourism and gaming industry,” he said in a statement.
This upbeat investor sentiment was shown during the company’s top-up placement where it raised about PHP600 million from a select group of qualified buyers, as defined under the Securities Regulation Code.
Sueiro said the company believes that with more of the population vaccinated in the coming months, there will be a resumption of both international and local flights, spurring a recovery in tourism in the Philippines and the region.
Emerald Bay is scheduled to open by the third quarter of next year.
Upon completion of the first phase, Emerald Bay will feature 122 gaming tables for mass, premium mass and junkets; 600 electronic gaming machines; and 270 hotel room bays.
PH Resorts, the gaming and hospitality unit of Davao businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Group, had done a top-up placement to raise funds for the Cebu casino project.
The top-up placement was successfully completed despite the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine restriction in the National Capital Region and certain provinces adjacent to it, as well as steadily rising Covid-19 cases nationwide. (PNA)
