The Philippines’ richest man and founder of Melco Resorts’ local partner Belle Corp, Henry Sy, has passed away aged 94.
Best known as the king of the retail mall, Sy’s holding firm SM Investments owns a vast network of department stores and supermarkets across the country as well as the BDO Unibank and extensive interests in real estate and property development.
The company’s Belle Corp subsidiary, which was first established as Belle Mining and Oil Exploration Inc in 1973 before turning to tourism and leisure property development in 1989, acquired Premium Leisure & Amusement, Inc in 2010 and two years later made its first foray into the gaming industry when it signed a cooperation agreement with Melco Resorts & Entertainment to develop and operate City of Dreams Manila.
Belle Corp announced last year an 18% year-on-year increase in its revenue share from City of Dreams Manila to Php1.73 billion for the first six months of 2018 as well as a 3% increase in revenue from the leasing of the land and buildings comprising City of Dreams Manila to Php1.06 billion.
City of Dreams contributed almost 62% of Belle Corp’s total revenue in 1H18.
Sy, who was born in Fujian province in China before moving to the Philippines at age 12, stepped down as Chairman of the board of SM Investments in 2014.
His son, Henry Sy Jr, currently serves as Chairman.