Duterte government puts out the welcome mat
Suncity Group will be among the first junket investors to launch VIP operations at Okada Manila, the latest casino resort in Manila’s Entertainment City, according to Morgan Stanley analysts Alex Poon and Praveen Choudhary. The report has not been confirmed by the Macau-based company.
According to the analysts, Chinese high rollers are behind a surge in growth at Manila’s casino resorts, which are also seeing more patronage by local players.
“Chinese visitor arrivals grew by 33 percent year-on-year in first half 2017,” Poon and Choudhary wrote. “On August 17, the Philippines government granted visas on arrival to Chinese visitors, and we think this will eventually extend to all Chinese visitors.”
Relations between Mainland China and the Philippines have warmed considerably since a meeting between Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping last October. Duterte described his Beijing trip as a “milestone” a step toward boosting trade and creating détente between the nations, which has battled in the past over drilling rights in the South China Sea.
