U.S. firm ready to jump
The Las Vegas Sands Corp. wants to build a multibillion-dollar integrated resort in Busan, South Korea, says George Tanasijevich, managing director of global development for the firm and CEO of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
Speaking to the Korea Economic Daily, Tanasijevich was unequivocal in asserting the company’s interest. “The best location for Sands Group to invest in is Busan,” he said. “We are willing to move in as soon as investment conditions are met.” In an interview with the Korea Times earlier this year, he said the company would do “whatever it takes” to persuade the Korean government to get on the bandwagon.
Tanasijevich said the Sands Corp. has been evaluating the Asian market since 2008 and likes Busan’s strong potential for meeting and conventions business. It offers “international airport, hotels, MICE facilities, and department stores across the city,” he said. “The city has an unlimited growth potential for its location lying between Japan and China, but is now suffering in obscurity due to lack of enough five-star hotels and exhibition and convention venues.”
Tanasijevich said the U.S.-based company may pledge up to 12 trillion won (US$10.8 billion) for a resort in Busan, according to the Asia Gaming Brief.
“If Busan really aims to become an international tourism city, we can do it by enlisting investors just like in Singapore, which raised its profile as a premier tourist destination by increasing foreign tourist numbers from 9.2 million in 2009 to 15 million in 2015,” he said. The development also created 46,000 new jobs, Tanasijevich said.
GGRAsia reports that “key members” from Las Vegas Sands have already toured the Busan North Port area and talked with government officials.
Glenn McCartney, assistant professor of hospitality and gaming at the University of Macau, agrees the development of a casino resort in Busan could be a “catalyst to tourism” if pursued in partnership with “international experienced operators.”
Locals gaming would further stoke interest in the jurisdiction. South Korea currently has 17 casinos, but Korean nationals are only allowed to gamble at one: Kangwon Land in a remote area of Kangwon Province. Some analysts say letting locals gamble elsewhere in the country would require adjustments to the existing regulatory framework and would likely include some kind of entry fee. Though there are currently several new foreigners-only gaming projects under construction in South Korea, those projects “will have difficulty achieving robust returns on investments” due to the inability to serve local gamblers, Fitch Ratings said in a note in March.
