Sydney Morning Herald – Casino operator Donaco International has cleared the final regulatory hurdle in its bid to open a new hotel and gaming property in the North of Vietnam, pitched at Chinese gamblers in the bordering Yunnan province.

The company is run by Joey and Ben Lim who are nephews of casino magnate K.T. Lim, the founder of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Berhad. Genting Hong Kong, which is part of Mr Lim’s empire, has a strategic stake in casino operator Echo Entertainment Group.

The young pair have been successful in selling their vision to local fund managers of new casinos in under developed Asian countries, with Donaco raking in $100 million across two capital raisings in the past year.

In an announcement to the market on Tuesday, Donaco said it had received Vietnamese government approval for an amended investment certificate, which allows it to relocate the hotel and casino it owns to the site of its new $53 million development.

The five star 428-room hotel and casino is now slated to open in a “soft launch” on May 18, the company said.

The $521 million company has increased in value by 227 per cent in the past year. Its share price rose 1.2 per cent higher to trade at $1.225 on Tuesday at 10:11am AEST.