MANILA The Philippines' Hann Resorts is planning an initial public offering (IPO) worth up to 20 billion pesos (US$342.2 million or RM1.6 billion), the gaming regulator said on Tuesday, as the integrated casino-resort operator seeks to cash in on the booming gambling sector.

The deal could be the largest maiden share sale in the Philippines since MREIT Inc's 15 billion pesos IPO in 2021, and could match the amount raised by another integrated casino-resort IPO more than a decade ago.

Hann Resorts, led by Korean national Dae Sik Han, has a target of listing on the Philippine bourse early next year, Alejandro Tengco, chairman of the gaming regulator, told Reuters.

"The growth story is they have a casino expansion including three championship golf courses and five-star hotels," Tengco said. The Philippine gambling sector, which includes a smaller version of the Las Vegas Strip in Manila, attracts high rollers from countries including China, Japan and South Korea.

Hann Resorts is weighing whether it can pursue an IPO this year, with fresh capital allotted for expanded gaming activities and the development of luxury estate Hann Reserve, a banking source with knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday.

Hann Resorts CEO Han did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The news of the IPO was first reported by news site InsiderPH on Monday.

Hann Resorts owns a casino-resort with 147 gaming tables, 868 slot machines, two VIP clubs, and two five-star hotels in a former US military air base in Pampanga province.

Its parent firm, Hann Philippines, is spending around US$2 billion for Hann Reserve, a 450-hectare luxury estate development at the adjacent Tarlac province, and is among the up to US$6 billion worth of investments being made into the Philippines' casino sector in the next five years, according to the gaming regulator.

Among the Philippines' integrated casino-resort operators, only Travellers Group, a joint venture between Genting Hong Kong Ltd and a Philippine conglomerate, conducted an IPO but its owners took it private six years later in 2019.

  - Reuters