Chinese tycoon Yang Zhihui flips 007 casino for all-in bet on South Korean island

Apr 18 , 2018

Landing’s Marriott resort is one of four international hotel chain properties at the Jeju Shinhwa World resort, on Jeju, South Korea. Photo: Bloomberg

Billionaire builds Jeju casino resort as China-Korea relations sour; weathers diplomatic storm, and announces he would build another mega-gaming facility in the Philippines.

Sometimes, all you need is a private jet.

Soon after property tycoon Yang Zhihui bet his fortune on luring Chinese gamblers and investors to a giant casino resort project in South Korea, his ambitions were threatened by an economic war that flared up between the two nations. Yang not only weathered the political spat over North Korea’s nuclear programme, but his massive project expanded and his company announced this month it would build another casino in the Philippines.

The Marriott Resort has impressive Chinese dining facilities at the Jeju Shinhwa World resort, on Jeju, South Korea. Photo: Bloomberg

How Yang managed to keep the dream alive has a lot to do with his days as a property agent during China’s boom years, the profit he reaped from flipping one of James Bond’s old gambling haunts, and a Bombardier Global 6000 jet bought for US$53 million in 2013. It also shows why Asia’s gambling expansion continues unabated, despite China’s economic slowdown, a looming trade war and Xi Jinping’s crackdowns on corruption and cash exports.

In November 2016, Yang’s company signed a deal to buy out its partner, Genting Singapore, in the US$2.4 billion project on South Korea’s Jeju island, a holiday haven for honeymooners about the size of Maui and an hour’s flight from Seoul. At the time, Chinese visitors were the fastest-growing part of the island’s economy, which relies heavily on the attractions of its volcanic scenery and mild climate.

A Bombardier Global 6000 jet became a link between Jeju and the wealthy clients property tycoon Yang Zhihui cultivated during his rise to wealth as casino-owning property tycoon. Photo: Duncan Chard/Bloomberg

That all changed when South Korea decided to install the US Thaad missile defence system after being spooked by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s warlike rhetoric and weapons tests. China objected and ordered travel agents to stop selling tour packages to South Korea in March 2017, according to the Korean tourist bureau. Airlines cut the number of flights to the peninsula and Chinese visitor numbers slumped.

That’s where Yang’s jet came in.