Philippine casino operator Alliance Global plans to build another 6,500 hotel rooms over the next five years as it ramps up investment in the country’s tourism sector.

The plan includes the launch by year-end of its 2,500-room Resorts World Bayshore project on Manila’s seafront, its chairman Andrew Tan said in a statement.

It also includes a previously launched $345-million project to build a 2,500-hotel room tourism estate called Boracay Newcoast on the central resort island of Boracay.

International real estate tycoon Donald Trump has collaborated with Century Properties for the first Trump Tower in the Philippines.

Century Properties is licensing the Trump brand to build and sell the P6-billion ($150-million) Trump-branded residential tower in Makati called Trump Tower Manila.

The tower will feature a grand triple-height lobby, a fine dining restaurant on the ground floor, a library, a business centre and lounge and video room at the third level.

Missoni is partnering with Filipino real estate developer Century Properties to design the interior decor and amenity spaces of a condominium building in Manila.

Missoni Home is not new to commercial real estate. It designed the Hotel Missoni line with Rezidor Hotel Group, with hotels open or opening in Scotland, Kuwait, Turkey, Omanan and Brazil.

But the collaboration with Century Properties marks the first time the fashion house is venturing out into residential real estate.

An ambitious chef from the Philippines has created the world’s most expensive sushi, wrapped in gold leaves and small African diamonds.

The five pieces of sushi, worth 91,800 pesos ($2,000), was created by chef Araneta Jr. , who said his unusual food artworks are used as gifts in marriage proposals or during courtship.

Asia Pacific’s leading spa, wellness and travel magazine AsiaSpa has just released its first Philippines supplement.

The supplement details and lists the hottest spas and newest travel trends associated with the Philippines – one of Asia’s hottest new destinations.

The new supplement was written by Catharine Nicol who travelled the country to research and interview local personalities in the spa and wellness industry.

“The spa industry in the Philippines has boomed since my first visit five years ago,” says Catharine.

Bonhams will auction off what is believed to be the world’s second-largest documented pearl, a five-pound gem found off the coast of the Philippines.

Dubbed the “Palawan Princess,” the gem is next to the 14-pound “Pearl of Allah” in size that was also found off the coastal waters of the Philippines.

The natural non-nacreous pearl was found in saltwater near the Philippines’ Palawan island and “bears an uncanny resemblance to a human brain”.