Bigger, better Cheng

Bigger, better Cheng: "ONE of Hong Kong's leading tycoons, Cheng Yu-tung of the New World hotel and property fame, has emerged as the real owner of the new Hyatt hotel and casino in Manila's Ermita district. Cheng -- no relation to the local Chengs of the PIATCo/Terminal 3 disaster -- was identified in the Monday issue of Hong Kong newspaper The Standard, as the beneficial owner of a little-known company that acquired a building plus several floors of the two-tower Ermita project of Andrew Tan's property development firm Megaworld Corp. The bayside hotel will be Cheng's second hotel venture in the Philippines after the New World Renaissance near the Greenbelt mall in the Makati business district. According to the grapevine, the Hong Kong billionaire, who also operates a container terminal in the Xiamen port, in addition to a cellular phone company in Hong Kong, is in talks with the Ayala group on a property venture in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone west of Manila. Cheng, 78, a partner of Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho in the former Portuguese territory, acquired the Ermita property in the first quarter of 2003, after sending an architect and a lawyer from Hong Kong to inspect the project and meet with the Megaworld sales staff. 'At first, we did not have a clue as to whom they represented, and that they were THAT big,' said a Megaworld official, who asked not to be identified. Forbes has listed Cheng as the 231st richest person in the world in 2004. He reportedly pumped in a total of $120 million to acquire and finish the Ermita hotel and casino project, which had stalled when rumored original proponent Stanley Ho found himself a persona non grata after being embroiled in the BW Resources scandal during the Joseph Estrada administration. The Hyatt hotel in Ermita will be the 14th venture of Cheng, whose hotels, including the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong, are spread throughout China and the rest of the region. Publicly listed Megaworld itself retains 40 percent of the two-tower Ermita complex, which it plans to convert into serviced apartments, its first foray into the business. The Hyatt hotel and casino complex is on a soft run, preparatory to a formal opening in December. Cheng and his son Henry are expected to grace the opening ceremonies."