Inside Asian Gaming

DECEMBER 2018 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 77 IN FOCUS Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium. Originally coming together to successfully bid on Queen’s Wharf in 2015, the jewelry and real estate giants each purchased a 4.99% stake in Star Entertainment Group in March as part of a Strategic Alliance that Star says “underpins the strategic partnership and better aligns the interests of The Star’s strategic joint venture partners with the long-term growth and financial performance of The Star.” Star said at the time that the Strategic Alliance includes a commitment by the trio to jointly pursue major growth developments in and around Star’s properties in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast to increase their scale and appeal, while also establishing a marketing alliance to drive high-end tourism. Certainly there is plenty of value in CTFE and FEC’s respective databases of high-end customers which will no doubt be fully utilized to drive traffic the way of their new Australian resort interests. As for Star? “Our vision is to be Australia’s leading integrated resort company and our plans for the Gold Coast are completely aligned with that positioning,” Bekier explains. “We are excited about the tourism forecasts we are seeing for the Gold Coast and much needed new infrastructure will deliver a resort of true international appeal.” No timeline has yet been supplied for the Gold Coast masterplan, with the company stating commencement would depend on “market and competitor conditions.” “The masterplan in its entirety would seeThe Star Gold Coast boast more tourism accommodation than any other resort in Australia.” – Matt Bekier