Belle Corporation has confirmed that active discussions are underway with three to four foreign casino operators for its planned integrated resort in Clark, Pampanga, as the Philippine real estate and gaming group moves to find a partner for what could become a $300 million to $500 million development.
The confirmation came through a Philippine Stock Exchange filing, with Belle president and chief executive Armin Antonio Raquel-Santos acknowledging that the company is speaking with multiple international operators, including its existing partner Melco Resorts and Entertainment Corp the group behind City of Dreams Manila, where Belle already holds a revenue-sharing arrangement and land lease relationship. The Clark project is expected to follow a similar co-licensing model, with the chosen operator managing gaming operations while leasing the land from Belle, allowing the company to earn from both rental income and a share of gross gaming revenues once the property is operational.
The licensing groundwork for the Clark project is already in place. Belle’s gaming subsidiaries under Premium Leisure Corp received a provisional licence from PAGCOR’s board to develop and operate an integrated resort within the Clark Special Economic Zone. Earlier this year, Belle also filed a request with PAGCOR to include both Premium Leisure Corp and Belle Corporation itself as co-licensees, a move the company described as aimed at strengthening the project’s overall development capabilities. That request is currently undergoing regulatory assessment.
The Clark site itself spans five hectares and is envisioned to include casino and hotel components. Belle has set an internal timeline that places the official opening within two to three years from the point at which an operator is formally engaged — a timeline that assumes the company is able to select a partner within 2026, a goal Raquel-Santos described as the objective, though one subject to negotiation progress and broader market conditions.
Clark’s appeal as a gaming destination is not lost on the market. The area already hosts several casino properties including Hann, Royce, D’Heights, Midori, Casino Plus and PAGCOR’s own Casino Filipino Capital, and Belle has characterised it as an emerging meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions tourism hub with growing regional gaming significance. The location’s access to international markets particularly from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Japan via Clark International Airport adds strategic weight to the investment case.
Financially, Belle enters this expansion phase from a position of moderate but improving momentum. The company reported net income of PHP524 million for the first quarter of 2026, a 13 percent increase year-on-year, while total revenues reached PHP1.42 billion, up 9 percent from the same period in 2025. Gaming revenue from its share of City of Dreams Manila also grew 12.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to PHP485.7 million. That said, the full-year 2025 picture was softer, with annual gaming revenue from City of Dreams Manila down 17 percent year-on-year and aggregate net income falling 13 percent, reflecting both the concentration of Belle’s earnings around a narrow set of assets and the ongoing pressure from global economic uncertainties affecting travel and gaming demand.
The Clark project, if it moves forward on the timelines Belle has outlined, would represent the company’s most significant expansion in years and a meaningful step toward diversifying its revenue base beyond its Entertainment City interests. For the broader Philippines gaming market, it would add another large-scale integrated resort to a province that is increasingly positioning itself as a secondary gaming hub to Manila and one that carries the backing of a developer with a proven track record in the sector.
