Yida International Investment, a China-based investment group, plans to spend US$2bn to develop a destination resort with a casino on the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
The firm has signed a memorandum of agreement with the islands’ government with the aim of constructing a mixed-use leisure complex larger than Baha Mar in the Bahamas, which is also backed with Chinese money and is slated to open in December with William Weidner’s Global Gaming Asset Management in charge of operations.
The Yida plan calls for five hotels, 1,300 private residences, a golf course, a conference centre, a marina and other attractions spread across 1,500 acres on Antigua’s Guiana island, two smaller islands and a neighbouring peninsula.
The deal was signed on the same day that Antigua, known principally as a tourist destination and online gambling hub, swore in a new Labour government led by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who has promised that “my administration would bring the type of investments that would transform Antigua into an economic powerhouse.”
In line with this, the agreement calls for Yida to invest more than $200m annually in the local economy over the next 10 years and open doors in China for Antigua in the hope of attracting additional investment.
The agreement certainly signals a robust interest in the Caribbean on the part of Chinese companies. The Export-Import Bank of China is providing the bulk of financing for the $3.5bn Baha Mar, which will feature 2,900 hotel rooms and a 100,000sq.ft casino. It is due to open in December this year.
China State Construction Engineering Corp, the country’s largest builder, is the general contractor and a limited investor and is employing thousands of workers from China at the site.
The Bahamas has since expanded its international airport to meet the desired demand and has negotiated 30-day visa free access to the island nation for Chinese travellers. Baha Mar parent Baha Mar Ltd has opened a business development office in Hong Kong and plans to reach out to wealthy Asians in North and South America and Europe.
Malaysia-based resort conglomerate Genting is also expanding in the region through its Resorts World Bimini complex in the west of the Bahama, about 50 miles from Miami.
