Casino investor LET Group Holdings Ltd hopes to be able to convert its share of a loss in a joint venture, into an accounting profit, after on Thursday an entity called Gold Yield Enterprises Ltd repaid an outstanding loan amount of US$31.2 million to LET Group indirect subsidiary Star Admiral Ltd.

LET Group said in a Thursday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange: “As at the date of this announcement, Gold Yield Enterprises does not have any outstanding shareholder’s loans payable to Star Admiral.

“Subject to audit, it is expected that the group [LET Group] would, in accordance with Hong Kong accounting standards, record a share of profit of a joint venture which represents a reversal of the share of loss of the joint venture recognised in previous years arising from the further repayment.”

This would be achieved by dissolving Gold Yield Enterprises, a 50 percent-owned joint venture of Star Admiral, so that “any surplus assets” were distributed “in equal share” to LET Group and an entity called Alpha Era Investments Ltd, that owns the other half of Gold Yield Enterprises.

In March 2022, LET Group – then known as Suncity Group Holdings Ltd – had said Gold Yield Enterprises, identified as a firm principally engaged in the Hoiana casino resort project in Vietnam, had “not repaid” to Suncity Group Holdings a US$30-million loan “by the due date”.

In terms of its business interests, LET Group indirectly controls Philippine company Suntrust Resort Holdings Inc, which expects to start operations “in the first quarter of 2025” at the “main hotel casino” at Westside City in the Philippine capital Manila.

Another firm controlled by LET Group, Hong Kong-listed Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd, runs the Tigre de Cristal casino resort in Primorye, near the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok.

LET Group and Summit Ascent became non-compliant with Hong Kong bourse rules in January, after both firms saw an exodus of directors following an attempted deal to dispose of the entity that holds the gaming licence for Tigre de Cristal.

In February, the respective stock of LET Group and Summit Ascent was suspended from trading. Separately, Hong Kong’s stock market regulator the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said it was investigating both firms for possible breach of its rules regarding the Tigre de Cristal proposed deal.

The Russian would-be buyer eventually walked away from the deal.