Not clear if IR will contain a casino
Gaming operator Macau Legend Development Ltd. is buying a company that owns real estate in Siem Reap, Cambodia with a plan to possibly develop the property as a branded integrated resort.
In a New Year’s Eve filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the operator of casinos in Macau and Laos did not mention gaming in relation to the Siem Reap resort.
Last May, a Cambodian government official was quoted as saying that gaming is “not allowed” in Siem Reap, home of the country’s UNESCO World Heritage site Angkor Wat, the website reported.
Macau Legend will pay US$90 million for Howing Enterprises Co. Ltd. of Cambodia, which owns 1,200 hectares (2,965 acres) of land in the Cambodian province. “The acquisition of the land by the group is intended for construction and development of an integrated resort in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, allowing the group to take part in and benefit from the tourism industry of Cambodia, which is important for the group’s long-term development as well as the broadening of its revenue base,” Macau Legend informed the HKSE.
Macau Legend runs the Babylon Casino and the Legend Palace Casino in Macau under the SJM Holdings license. It also operates the Savan Legend Resorts Hotel and Entertainment Complex in Laos.
While gaming may not be permitted in Siem Reap, last June gaming analyst Andrew Klebanow of Global Market Advisors told GGRAsia that Cambodia is “ripe” to welcome an international gaming brand because of the country’s openness to Mainland Chinese tourists.
A 2018 report by the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering said Cambodia had 63 licensed casinos at the end of 2016.
