Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook, Far East Consortium bet on Brisbane casino resort

US$33 million deal with Star Australia plants flag in the Queensland capital, which is preparing to host the 2032 Olympics

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A view of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, including the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane complex, on January 21, 2025. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:36pm, 7 Mar 2025

Hong Kong conglomerates Chow Tai Fook (CTF) – the parent company of New World Development – and Far East Consortium struck a deal to buy a stake in a Brisbane casino and resort complex from Australia’s Star Entertainment, planting a flag in the city that will host the 2032 Summer Olympics.

A joint venture of Far East and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of CTF, will pay A$53 million (US$33.4 million) for Star’s stakes in Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, according to Far East’s filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday.

The payment will be made in several tranches, with the first tranche of A$35 million on Friday, the filing showed. Star will continue to manage the property for a time for a fixed fee, Far East said.

The casino complex, covering more than 12 hectares in the central business district of the capital city of Queensland, was developed for A$3.6 billion, according to Star’s website.

When the deal is complete, the CTFE and Far East joint venture will become the sole owner of the Brisbane project, which includes hotels, restaurants and car parks. In exchange, Star will take on the investors’ 66.7 per cent stake in a property in Queensland’s Gold Coast, which comprises two hotel towers.

CTFE and Far East aimed to continue the Brisbane resort’s normal operations, according to a source familiar with the matter, and their strategy aligned with their longer-term goal of optimising their investments in Australia.