Japan’s Universal Entertainment has announced that it has entered into a basic agreement with mainland Chinese finance conglomerate, China Guangcai International Investment Group Co, Ltd, to expand its casino business via the sales and maintenance of devices and systems in Southeast Asia.
The agreement will see the two companies form a 50-50 joint venture whose principal activity will be the “sales and maintenance business for casino-related devices and systems” developed and manufactured by Universal. The new venture will also have exclusive rights to the sale and maintenance of Universal devices and systems in all Southeast Asian countries other than the Philippines, home of Universal’s recently opened Okada Manila integrated resort.
Universal said it has yet to be determined if the joint venture will become a consolidated subsidiary of the company.
The Guangcai Group is described as a state-owned finance enterprise group with support from the Chinese central government. It has been engaged in national level projects globally in fields such as finance, resource development, mineral development and trade.
In a statement, Universal said, “We believe that the cooperative relationship with the internationally proven group will contribute to expanding our casino related business.”