Hong Kong’s powerful Cheng family has taken over management of Vietnam’s first integrated resort Hoiana in the central province of Quang Nam, according to a Bloomberg report.
Hoiana Resort & Golf is a joint venture between Chow Tai Fook, LET Group Holdings (formerly known as Suncity Group of jailed Macau gambling kingpin Alvin Chau) and Vietnam’s leading investment management firm VinaCapital.
VinaCapital continues to maintain its holding in the integrated resort, a VinaCapital source told The Investor Monday.
The holding ratios of each side in the joint venture are not disclosed as contracted, the source added.
The Hoiana features a casino with 140 gaming tables and over 350 gambling machines, a golf course, and luxury hotels under the Cheng family’s New World and Rosewood brands.
Alvin Chau was arrested in November 2021 for conducting illegal gaming activities and was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Macau earlier this year. Listed unit Suncity Group was taken over by executive director Andrew Lo last year and renamed LET Group.
LET Group has ceased to be involved in the management of the Hoiana, the Bloomberg report said.
More facilities are under construction to complete the resort, with a total expected investment of around $4 billion, it added.
“The Hoiana Resort & Golf has all the factors to attract international visitors,” its president and CEO Steve Wolstenholme told The Investor in an interview this March.
The property is located on a four-kilometer long coastline near the ancient town of Hoi An, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
Along with the Cu Lao Cham archipelago, the town is also part of the Cu Lao Cham-Hoi An Biosphere Reserve, designated by the UNESCO in 2009.
Hoiana has four luxury hotels managed by Rosewood Hotel Group (Hoiana Hotel & Suites, New World Hoiana and upcoming New World Hoiana Beach Resort and Rosewood Hoi An), an 18-hole golf course, and a casino with cutting-edge equipment, Wolstenholme said.
“At Hoiana, visitors will have many opportunities to enjoy high-class services and the most diverse experiences,” he added.