Fung blames dive in Chinese patronage
Three years after the Queensland, Australia government OK’d two provisional gaming licenses for the state, neither of the resorts planned at the time has yet to be completed. Even so, lawmakers continue to push for a second integrated resort with gaming.
As Queensland Projects CEO David Edwards recently told Forbes, “With theme parks, it’s proven that clustering drives visitation. We think that having a variety of offerings and a lift in offerings will grow the pie. Everyone in the tourism industry knows that the Gold Coast is a prized and exciting Australian location.”
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the only new project in development is Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf development, a joint venture of Star Entertainment Group, Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium. Meanwhile, the planned $8 million Aquis casino project near Cairns has been shelved, and the ASF Group has sized down its original AU$7 billion proposal to a smaller $3 billion plan.
Aquis attributed its decision to the sharp decline in Asian gaming. But Aquis Australia CEO Justin Fung says the company will move forward with other tourism and hotel projects on the Gold Coast, including the $440 million, six-star hotel at Main Beach in Surfer’s Paradise.
“We had proposed the development at Yorkey’s Knob but unfortunately that project is on hold for the time being,” he told the Australian. “At the moment, we are working on some new developments plans. What was feasible then is not compatible with the gaming market in Southeast Asia and Australia.”
He added that the decision was not solely based on the arrests of 18 Crown Resorts employees in Mainland China; the staffers were detained last October and charged with “gambling crimes.” They continue to be held in a Shanghai detention center.
“It’s not just the result of Crown in China,” said Fung. “It’s the result of general market trends for the sector,” he said. “We are still incredibly bullish on Chinese tourism in the future.”
Meanwhile, Star Entertainment Managing Director for Queensland Geoff Hogg told Forbes magazine two casinos are too much, even for major metropolitan areas.
“Across Australia, there is clear history and performance to indicate that one casino in each major city is sufficient,” he said. “You would question whether there is sufficient sustainability in larger cities for two before you could definitely apply that to Brisbane and Gold Coast.”
