Firm with casino project in PH loses contact with chair; shares drop 33%

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Casino operator Landing International Development Ltd. said it has not been able to contact its chairman and controlling shareholder for over a day, sending its Hong Kong-listed shares down as much as 33 percent.

The announcement comes just weeks after Landing's $1.5-billion integrated casino project in the Philippines hit a snag after President Duterte fired officials of Nayong Pilipino Foundation for entering into a long-term lease contract with Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp. (LRPDC), its Philippine unit. Duterte said the lease contract was unfavorable to the government.

In a statement late on Thursday, Landing said it had been “unable to contact or reach” Yang Zhihui since earlier that day, adding its operations and finances were normal. It did not state whether it had reported the chairman as missing to the police.

A spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday that the firm was still attempting to contact the chairman. She declined to elaborate beyond the contents of Landing's statement.

Yang was involved in property development in China's eastern Anhui province before joining Landing in 2013. He has a close relationship with Macau junket operators, who facilitate the VIP high-roller gambling business, said casino executives who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Chinese publication Caixin on Friday reported that Yang had been detained at an airport in Cambodia. It also said Yang has business ties to Huarong International Financial Holdings Ltd., without elaborating on those ties.

Huarong has been struggling for funds since former Chairman Lai Xiaomin in April became the subject of an anti-corruption probe, people familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.

Huarong did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on Friday.

Landing listed in Hong Kong in 2013 via a so-called backdoor listing, taking over Greenfield Chemical Holdings Co. in a deal facilitated by Kingston Securities, a financial services firm headed by Hong Kong billionaire Pollyanna Chu.

It has a market value of around HK$11 billion ($1.40 billion), with Yang owning 50.48 percent of its issued share capital, showed data from Thomson Reuters Eikon on Friday.

In February, the developer opened a casino on South Korea's Jeju island, and in July was granted a licence to build a casino in Manila's Entertainment City.

Shortly after breaking ground in Manila on Aug. 7, however, a presidential spokesman said the casino would be cancelled because Landing's lease was unfavourable to the government.

Shares of Landing were down 18 percent at the midday trading break, versus a 0.7 percent fall in the benchmark index. The stock was worth as much as HK$20 in March but has sunk to a 16-month low of HK$3.