Lawrence Ho’s investment in IFCX marks his latest bet beyond the casino empire he built across Macau, the Philippines, Cyprus and Sri Lanka.
Lawrence Ho, chairman and CEO of Melco International Development.Justin Chin/Bloomberg
Black Spade Capital, the Hong Kong-based family office of casino magnate Lawrence Ho, has made an undisclosed investment in real estate brokerage firm IFCX.
Hong Kong-headquartered IFCX, founded in 2014 by ex-Morgan Stanley banker Kingston Lai, helps institutional investors invest in alternative assets such as properties, fine wines, art and other collectibles. The firm also helps property developers in Cambodia, Malaysia, the Middle East, Thailand, the U.K. and Vietnam to market and sell their projects, while providing property management services to buyers.
In a statement on Tuesday, IFCX said Black Spade Capital’s investment allows the firm to tap into a wider network of high-net-worth individuals, as well as the hospitality and entertainment sectors in Asia. IFCX added that it will expand its offerings to include predictive market analytics and artificial intelligence-powered tools for investor engagement.
“With Black Spade’s backing, we’re not only expanding our footprint,” said Lai, IFCX’s CEO. “We’re redefining how real estate is traded on a global scale, bridging institutional pathways and empowering individual investors.”
Black Spade president and CEO Dennis Tam said the family office invested in IFCX because of its presence in emerging markets. “We see these markets as critical growth engines that complement our presence in several Asian countries through our integrated resorts,” Tam said in an email response.
The chairman and CEO of casino giant Melco International Development, Ho’s investment in IFCX marks his latest bet outside of his core casino business in Macau.
In January, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company formed by his family office announced it had entered into a business combination agreement with Generation Essentials Group (formerly World Media and Entertainment Universal) at an enterprise value of $892 million. The French media and entertainment company is a subsidiary of AMTD Digital, which briefly became the world’s hottest stock after it went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022 but saw its shares plunged more than 87% since then.
Ho in 2021 also listed another SPAC on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $169 million. Two years later, the blank-check company completed a $23 billion business combination with VinFast Auto, Vietnam’s electric-vehicle manufacturer controlled by the country’s richest person Pham Nhat Vuong.
The son of late casino legend Stanley Ho, the younger Ho has also been expanding his gambling empire beyond Macau following Beijing’s years-long crackdown on capital outflow through gambling in the Asian gaming hub. In January, Ho announced plans to pursue a license to operate an integrated resort in Thailand once casinos are legalized in the country, a move he described as a “generational opportunity.” Meanwhile, Melco plans to open a casino in Sri Lanka later this year, adding to its existing portfolio that includes hospitality and gaming complexes in Macau, the Philippines and Cyprus