Chinabank Waits For Right Offer On Failed Emerald Bay Casino Site

China Banking Corp has no plans to rush a sale tied to the stalled Emerald Bay casino site in Cebu. The lender says the land will remain off the market until pricing aligns with internal expectations.

Good to Know

• Chinabank controls the Emerald Bay site after a leaseback expired
• Emerald Bay development stopped years before opening
• No sale will proceed without acceptable valuation

China Banking Corp confirmed it will not sell the land beneath the failed Emerald Bay integrated resort until financial terms meet its expectations. Chinabank Chairman Hans Sy addressed the status of the property during a recent interview with GMA News.

“There are offers,” Sy said. “We’ll negotiate. When we get a price that we find is good, then we sell.”

The land once anchored Emerald Bay, a planned $300 million casino resort backed by Dennis Uy and PH Resorts Group. Construction began in 2017 with an original opening target set for 2021. That timeline unraveled after the pandemic disrupted labor, supply chains, and financing. Work slowed, then stopped, and never restarted.

Partnerships that never moved forward

PH Resorts Group spent years searching for partners to revive the project. Talks included Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment Inc, operator of Okada Manila, along with Bloomberry Resorts led by Enrique Razon and Cebu-based developer AppleOne Group. None of those discussions resulted in a finalized agreement.

In December 2024, construction firm EEI Corp entered into a deal to help complete the long-delayed resort. That effort also collapsed within the same month, ending the final known attempt to restart development.

What Emerald Bay was meant to become

Phase 1 plans called for a beachfront integrated resort anchored by a 7,585 square meter casino. The gaming floor would have featured 1,186 electronic gaming machines and 146 table games. Design plans also included a five-star hotel, four swimming pools, 18 food and beverage outlets, a retail zone, and conference facilities.

PH Resorts Group lost control of the site last March after a leaseback agreement signed in 2023 expired. Chinabank declined to renew the arrangement, bringing an end to the developer involvement.

“We gave them a chance – a year and a half – because we don’t want to be ruthless,” Sy said. “We gave Dennis a chance to redeem.”

The situation worsened in December when the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp withdrew Emerald Bay provisional gaming licence, formally ending the project path toward operation.

Chinabank outlook and strategy shift

Sy described the year ahead as difficult and said Chinabank will adjust its priorities accordingly.

Sy said he expects 2026 to be a “challenging” year. He added that Chinabank plans to focus more on small and medium enterprises rather than large-scale developments. He added:

“There are better opportunities than working with such a big entity … I don’t want to be putting all eggs in one basket.”

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