China Banking Corp. said over the weekend it is entertaining interest from potential buyers for the 14-hectare property in Mactan, Cebu which it acquired from PH Resort Group Holdings Inc. of businessman Dennis Uy.
“We have it [the property]. We’re open to people. We’ll start opening up to people who showed interest. There are a couple of interested parties,” Chinabank chairman Hans Sy said in an interview at the sidelines of the recent SM Investments Corp.’s annual shareholders meeting.
Sy said the property, which is now under the name of the bank “is very valuable” because of its good location.
He said the property is now entirely under Chinabank’s name, as previous arrangements with Uy had expired.
“We gave Dennis really a chance to redeem. Of course, he was appealing, but we gave already more than a year,” Sy said.
When asked if PHR has an option to lease back the property, Sy said the bank was not planning to renew the lease back agreement which expired in March.
“We always do things with a heart. We gave them a chance. That’s true. It’s almost two years. A year and a half. Yeah, more than a year. So, at least, we don’t want to really be very ruthless,” he said.
PH Resorts in October 2023 sold and signed a lease back agreement for the 14-hectare property in Mactan, Cebu for its ongoing Emerald Bay casino with China Bank.
This enabled PH Resorts to restructure its P3.1-billion loan extended by bank in 2018.
PH Resorts is now in talks with EEI Corp for possible investment in its $300-million casino project.
Uy-led Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. entered into a dacion-en-pago transaction with China Bank last week. The property, which was used as payment for the debt, involves a real estate land in Taguig City. The move was aimed at reducing the company’s debt.
Meanwhile, the Sy family which also into real estate development under SM Prime Holdings Inc. will not acquire the 14-hectare lot as the group has several ongoing projects, including the 360-hectare reclamation project in Pasay City, according to Sy.
