In Vietnam, the Ministry of Finance is proposing easier minimum capital requirements for casino investors in hopes of attracting more investment in special administrative-economic zones.
Under current regulations, investors must pledge a minimum of US$2 billion to build an integrated resort with gaming in the country, and put up US$1 billion before an investment registration certificate is granted.
According to VNExpress, the plan could bring more investment into special economic zones, especially Van Don in Quang Ninh Province, one of three areas identified as a special investment zone along with Bac Van Phong in Khanh Hoa Province and Phu Quoc in Kien Giang Province. A casino resort is now in development in Van Don by Sun Group, one of Vietnam’s biggest real estate developers.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment has stated it objects to the plan, but gave no reason. The Ministry of Defense also opposes it, saying lesser financial requirements would be unfair to current licensees.
In 2018, the government approved a three-year trial project that would allow Vietnamese nationals to enter one casino in Phu Quoc Island on a pilot basis if they can meet certain benchmarks, including a minimum monthly income level and a willingness to pay an entry fee.
Importantly, capital investment in other projects in special administrative economic zones (SAEZs)—or infrastructure projects linked to such zones—will be taken into account when calculating the minimum capital an investor must disburse in a large-scale casino project.
The news platform added—citing the country’s Ministry of Finance—that the idea was to “help resolve difficulties for investors, and attract investment into casino and infrastructure projects connected to SAEZs, especially Van Don, a locality deemed to have underdeveloped infrastructure.”
Corona Resort and Casino, on Phu Quoc island, close to Vietnam’s border with Cambodia, opened in January with permission for economically-qualified Vietnamese to use the gaming facilities.
Also in Vietnam, Hong Kong-listed junket operator Suncity Group Holdings Ltd. says Phase I of its Hoiana casino resort, now being built in Hoi An in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam, may not be completed until the first half of 2020. The company had said in May it expected the initial phase of the property to be ready by the end of 2019.
In a September 5 filing to the HKSE, Suncity confirmed that Phase I “will include more than 1,000 hotel rooms, a casino with 140 gaming tables and over 300 slot machines, as well as a golf course.”
In August 2018, Suncity bought out Star Admiral Ltd.’s equity interest in the property, and since has been selected to manage casino and food and beverage operations at Hoiana. The Hoiana project is expected to comprise a total of seven phases to be developed over a span of 13 years, according to previous company information cited by GGRAsia.
Suncity also controls a nearly 30 percent stake in Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd., the promoter of Russian casino resort Tigre de Cristal.
