Belle, Melco Crown close $1B resort-casino deal

Property developer, leisure and gaming company Belle Corporation has closed a $1-billion deal with Macau casino and resort developer Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. to jointly develop an integrated casino, hotel, retail and entertainment complex on reclaimed land along Manila Bay. Belle signed the operating agreement with MCE through wholly owned subsidiary Premium Leisure and Amusement Inc. Belle and MCE are expected to invest equally in the project, which will be MCE's first in the Philippines. MCE officials earlier said that the project will take the company a step closer to realizing its goal of becoming one of Asia's top gaming companies. MCE is a joint venture of Australian billionaire James Packer and Lawrence Ho, son of Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho. Belle is controlled by magnate Henry Sy. The multibillion-dollar casino and tourism complex on the reclaimed land, called Entertainment City, is seen as the Philippines' answer to Las Vegas or Macau. Port magnate Enrique Razon's $1.2-billion Solaire Manila Resorts is already scheduled to open its doors on Saturday, March 16. It is the first of four major developments set to rise in the area. — BM, GMA News