Fosun International Ltd of China and the Sun City casino king of South Africa have agreed to build a USD1.6 billion resort located on Hainan holiday island in China. This is the latest in a number of developments that are hedging on the surge of upscale tourism into China.

The area had been identified as the place where China can liberalize casino gambling. The small island off the Chinese southern coast had already attracted a number of international firms in the past two years, with hospitality names such as InterContinental, Starwood as well as casino operators MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment.

The Hainan project is an Atlantis brand hotel located in the southern coastal city of Sanya. Fosun would be working with tycoon Sol Kerzner's company would not have a casino. This was confirmed by Kerzner CEO Alan Leibman with Reuters through a recent interview. Leibman said, in an interview on Hainan island, "We have been very successful with and without gaming within our business. It is nothing we have anticipated in why we are building Atlantis."

Leibman placed the cost of the project at around USD1.5 billion while on the other hand, Fosun and Kerzner issued a joint statement sauing that Fosun would be investing over CNY10 billion or USD1.63 billion in the project.