Hong Kong’s billionaire Cheng family has assumed control of a casino resort in Vietnam from the former listed company of jailed Macau gambling kingpin Alvin Chau, according to people familiar with the matter.
LET Group Holdings Ltd., which used to be part of Chau’s business empire Suncity Group, has ceased to be involved in the management of the Hoiana resort near the Vietnamese port city of Da Nang, with the Cheng family’s flagship investment firm Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd. now overseeing the resort’s operations, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
The Hoiana resort, a joint venture between Chow Tai Fook, LET Group and investment management firm VinaCapital, 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. More facilities are under construction to complete the resort, with a total expected investment of around $4 billion.
Chow Tai Fook and LET Group didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Chau’s group used to run Macau’s largest junket operator, heading a lucrative industry that attracted high rollers from mainland China with private jets, luxury suites and gambling credits. The sector crumbled after a crackdown by Beijing on concerns over capital outflows and potential money laundering.
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 Holdings Ltd. — which doesn’t run junket businesses — was taken over by executive director Andrew Lo last year and renamed LET Group.
Chow Tai Fook’s Hoiana takeover comes as many Macau junket operators, facing tougher regulations and higher taxes at home, are increasingly looking to Southeast Asia for business.
Vietnam is one of the top destinations due to more relaxed rules and the prospect of sharing VIP revenue with casinos — a model that Macau scrapped after China’s crackdown. Casinos in the country also rely heavily on big gamblers from overseas because Vietnam bans local residents from entering most gambling facilities.
In March, major Vietnamese junket operator Let’s Win Group hosted a grand opening party at Hoiana for its VIP club, attracting over 500 guests including a number of high roller agents from Macau and their clients from mainland China, according to people familiar with the matter.
Vietnam’s tourism is also bouncing back fast. Visitor arrivals for the first six months have recovered to 66% of 2019 levels, even though the Chinese — who accounted for nearly one third of the country’s tourists before the pandemic — have yet to return in droves amid a shortage of international flights.
Chow Tai Fook’s foray into casinos outside of China has also seen it become a key investor in Australian casino operator Star Entertainment Group Ltd. Together, they’ve been developing a $3.6 billion gambling resort in Brisbane with another Hong Kong-based conglomerate, Far East Consortium International Ltd.
(Updated with Vietnam’s tourism data in the 10th paragraph)
