Hong Kong-listed LET Group, formerly known as Suncity Group, revealed Wednesday that an agreement to sell 220,000 square meters of land in Hokkaido, Japan, has fallen through after the buyer failed to pay the remaining balance to complete the acquisition.
According to details filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the buyer – a company called NauticAWT Limited controlled by Malaysian investor Cheah Meng – failed to pay the balance of US$22.6 million by 31 October 2023, which “constitutes a uncurable default under the Sale and Purchase Agreement.”
Cheah’s deposit of US$5 million has been forfeited, LET Group added, while insisting that failure to complete the deal “will not have any material adverse impact on the financial position and operations of the Group.”
LET Group first announced in April that it had agreed to sell its Hokkaido land, explaining that it needed to offload assets for its own survival and to focus on “the most profitable business segments only.” The group has been looking to sell non-core assets ever since its former Chairman and financial backer Alvin Chau was arrested – and later jailed for 18 years – in November 2021.
The land in question was originally acquired by Suncity Group in 2020, with the company having intended to build over 50 villas, 20 townhouses and a hotel with over 40 rooms on the land, described at the time as a “luxury resort” to serve one of the world’s most popular skiing regions and primarily targeting Japanese and Korean travelers.
The project was part of Suncity’s broader Japan ambitions which at one stage included bidding to develop an integrated resort in Wakayama. Suncity eventually withdrew its bid in May 2021 – seven months before Chau’s arrest.
LET Group currently holds a 34% stake in Vietnam integrated resort Hoiana, controls Russian casino resort Tigre de Cristal via majority-owned subsidiary Summit Ascent and is developing a US$1.1 billion hotel and casino project in Manila’s Entertainment City precinct.
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