Friday, October 26, 2007

Berjaya To Invest US$600m In IR On S.Korea's Jeju Island

Source : The Straits Times, Oct 26, 2007

Malaysia conglomerate Berjaya Corporation will pump US$600 million (S$873 million) into building an Integrated Resort on South Korea's Jeju Island.

The project, which broke ground on Tuesday, will give the island's tourism drive a boost, when it is completed by 2011.

Spread over 743,700 square metres, the size of 10 soccer fields, the development will include a 500-room five-star hotel, luxury condominiums, medical facilities, commercial buildings and a casino to attract visitors and businesses from South Korea, Asia, Middle East and elsewhere.

The resort is expected to create 6,000 jobs for Jeju.

Berjaya and Jeju Free International City Development Centre (JDC) set up a US$30 million special project company as a joint venture for the project.

Berjaya owns 81 per cent of the company while JDC holds the remaining 19 per cent.

'We see great promise in Jeju because of its pristine natural environment, good infrastructure and central location in East Asia,' said Tan Sri Dato Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, Chairman and CEO of Berjaya Corporation, a conglomerate with diverse interests, ranging from hotels to financial services and lottery management.

'It is good to give people alternatives. After all you cannot always go to Macau.'

There are 17 cities with over five million people within a two-hour flight radius from Jeju.

The latest venture will add to Berjaya's existing 16 hotels and resorts within and outside Malaysia.

For Jeju Island, the tie-up is part of its strategy to attract 10 million visitors, including one million foreign tourists, annually by 2011.

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