internationalcasinoreview Singapore casinos fined for social News ASIA & OCEANIA
Vietnam remains attractive proposition for overseas investment
Following news of the bid by US-based Las Vegas Sands to build $6bn (E4.5bn) casino resort complexes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh provincial authorities have confirmed that Malaysian Genting Group is considering setting up a $4bn (E3bn) casino complex in Van Don, Vietnam.
casinoclamour VIETNAM
News that Malaysian Genting Group is looking into the potential of a $4bn (E3bn) casino complex in Van Don is further evidence that Vietnam is steadily becom- ing one of the more attrac- tive destinations for casino investors. January saw the govern-
ment release a document requesting the Ministry of Planning and Investment, together with relevant min- istries and the Quang Ninh provincial authorities, to discuss the Van Don project. Several multi-billion dollar
projects have already been licensed in Vietnam, includ- ing Silver Shores Hoang Dat in Da Nang City, Hoang Dong Lang Son and Ho Tram Strip. The list of casino projects
would have been longer if previous projects had not been refused, including the $4.15bn (E3.12bn) Bai Bien Rong project in Quang Nam and the $4bn Mui Dinh project in Ninh Thuan province proposed by a Hong Kong investor. In August 2011, a Macau investor proposed to imple- ment a project on Hoang Gia City in Yen Bai and Phu Tho, which includes a casino. In 2011, Kien Giang
province was the only local- ity to obtain approval to develop a casino, however that year, Kien Giang local authorities refused the pro- posal by an investor in the E2bn Hon Ngoc Viet project to develop a casino. Never- theless, the province has reserved a land plot with an area of 130 hectares for resorts with casinos. In 2009, some high-
ranking officials, especially the ones from border provinces, urged the govern- ment to open the doors to casinos, warning that other- wise Vietnam would lose money. As Vietnamese citi- zens are not allowed to go to
casinos in their own country, they travel across the border to Cambodia or go to Macau to gamble. As a result, Vietnam suffers from foreign cur- rency bleeding. From the angle of foreign
direct investment attraction, Vietnam would miss huge investment capital if it insists on saying “no” to casinos. In September 2011, the Prime Minister requested the min- istry of finance to draft a legal document on the manage- ment of “electronic games with prizes for foreigners”, an expression that is under- stood in Vietnam to mean casinos. However, the Prime Minister has emphasised
that the draft document compiled by the ministry does not include casino reg- ulations. Professor Dr Nguyen Mai,
former deputy chair of the State Committee for Coop- eration and Investment, said that Vietnam should not reject the investment that casinos would bring, but that the country should be choosy in attracting foreign direct investment.
Mai
believes that Vietnam should not grant licences to too many projects for casinos for foreign visitors, but nor does he believe that the country should prohibit casinos altogether.
Heavyweights ‘interested’ in $1bn Manila casino project
baywatch PHILIPPINES
Melco Crown Entertainment is “very interested” in a project which would see the construction of a $1bn (E751m) casino in Manila, according to Cristino Naguiat, chairman of the state-owned Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp (Pagcor) after a meeting with Melco officials in Manila. Naguiat confirmed that Galaxy Entertainment Group was also interested in a project in the 100 hectare- plus Entertainment City near
Manila Bay is a hotspot for casino development
Manila Bay, construction of which is slated to begin in Q4 2013. Pagcor awarded four licences in 2008 and 2009 to operate casino resorts in the Manila Bay area. It expects the resorts to generate
10 March 2012 • asia&oceanianews
annual gambling revenue of up to $11bn (E8.26bn) in five years of operation, thus overtaking Las Vegas. Pagcor requires a minimum invest- ment of $1bn from any firm awarded a gaming licence, stated Naguiat.
He said Galaxy was in dis- cussions with local groups and “could be” in talks with local property and leisure firm Belle Corp for potential co-operation. Belle Corp, under the leadership of retail mogul Henry Sy, was looking to lease at least 10 hectares of land from Pagcor for its second casino project in Entertainment City. That project would also cost in the region of $1bn.
Belle is building an inte-
grated entertainment resort complex called Belle Grande Manila Bay, which features a 30,000sq m casino within the Entertainment City.
Three other groups are cur- rently pursuing develop- ments in Entertainment City, the biggest being the $2bn (E1.5bn) casino hotel project being built by a division of Japan’s Universal Entertain- ment Corp set for comple- tion in 2014. The other developers are Bloomsbury Investments and a joint venture between Genting Hong Kong and Alliance Global. Pagcor’s total revenues
rose by 16.5 per cent to a record 36.7bn pesos (E623m) last year. It expects revenues to increase by at least 16 per cent in 2012.
Silver Shores Hoang Dat in Da Nang City
NEWSBRIEFS
Pair in custody over ‘fake’ casino
Two women have been taken into
custody after the Public Prosecutions Office com- pleted a preliminary inves- tigation of a case involving fake casinos in three rooms in Macau hotels. There are 16 suspects, of which 12 men and three women are from mainland China. The suspects are reported to have con- fessed that from March 2011 they operated fake casinos in local hotel rooms with counterfeit gaming equipment and served victims with spiked drinks. They would then hastily disassemble the equipment, keep it in the local suspect’s house and flee across the border with their victim’s money.
Macau growth continues
Gambling revenue in
Macau rose 35 per cent in January year-on-year, according to government statistics, as visitors from mainland China continued to flock to the resort. Macau saw gambling revenue rise to 25.04bn patacas (E2.35bn) in January, up from 18.57bn patacas (E1.74bn) during the same period in 2011. The figure was bolstered by the week-long New Year holiday but fell short of the record monthly high of 26.85bn patacas (E2.52bn) in October 2011.
Police raid Goa’s offshore casinos
North Goa police conducted a sur-
prise raid on Goa’s floating casinos in February to check whether they were serving liquor after 11pm. They found none and noticed that some had even put a board at the entrance of the vessel stating that, due to the Election Commission of India guidelines, they had stopped serving liquor after 11pm. A source at Casino Pride stated: “The police checked the entire vessel and left after they were convinced that we were not serving liquor.”
safeguard breach The Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore has fined the both casino operators for breaching social safeguard requirements that had been put in place to prevent them from targeting local markets. Marina Bay Sands was fined S$255,000 (E152,500), while Resorts World Sentosa was fined S$130,000 (E77,750). From August 2010 to April 2011, MBS admitted 14 Singapore citizens and permanent residents without valid entry levies, while RWS admitted five. MBS also allowed two Singaporeans and permanent residents with expired entry levies to remain in the casino, while RWS did so with three people.
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