Jimei’s gaming revenue increases in 2016

Local junket investor Jimei International Entertainment Group Ltd posted a net loss of HK$42.6 million (US$5.3 million) for the year of 2016 as compared to a profit of HK$6.2 million one year ago, but its total revenue derived from entertainment and gaming business registered a year-on-year increase.
According to the company’s filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday evening, its revenue from entertainment and gaming business totalled HK$193.1 million for the year, which grew by nearly 8 per cent year-on-year from HK$178.8 million one year ago.
The company explained in the filing that the net loss for the year was due to the impairment loss on trade and other receivables, which amounted to HK$100.9 million.
Total revenue of the group amounted to HK$195.6 million, which is similar to that of HK$194.9 million for 2015, as the part derived from its trading of chemical products, energy conservation and environmental protection products slumped by 85 percent year-on-year to HK$2.4 million.
Meanwhile, the company noted in the filing that its junket cooperation with Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd for its casino-resort NagaWorld in Phnom Penh ended in January.
Operating Jimei Casino in the Peninsula and a VIP club in City of Dreams in Cotai, the VIP promoter also has junket agreements with The Star and Crow Perth in Australia.
‘The Group shall continue to explore the possibility of further extending its business into the gaming and entertainment market to further broaden its income sources,’ the company wrote in the filing.
The junket group also ran Fontana Casino and Fort Ilocandia Hotel and Casino in the Philippines until the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), ordered the closure of the casino operations last year after its president Rodrigo Dutarte issued an arrest order against Jimei’s founder Jack Lam.
The country’s authorities accused the local businessman of economic sabotage and bribing its immigration officials after over 1,300 illegal workers were discovered in a raid in Fort Llocandia.
The official website of Jimei Group yesterday stated it still operates the Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks – the hotel property housing the Fontana Casino located at Clark Freeport Zone, in addition to Fort Ilocandia.
Last December, Jimei Group said in a filing that the incident involving Mr. Lam was his “own personal matter,” adding it ‘in no way materially affects or involves the Company and its subsidiaries’.