Two resort developments moved forward last week in Vietnam.
MQ Technology Bhd, a Malaysian investment company, wants to develop a $30 million casino resort complete with theme park in Prey Veng, along the border with Vietnam, reports the Phnom Penh Post. The firm’s proposed partner in the project is a newly formed entity, Cambodian Resorts and Entertainment Co. Ltd., local media report.
An anonymous source told the Star newspaper that MQ, which manufactures computer parts, will construct the complex and CRE will operate the gaming side.
An early report on the project said the joint venture would be associated with NagaCorp Ltd, operator of NagaWorld in Phnom Penh. But the deal may be linked to Malaysian gaming firm VW Win Holdings Plc, a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Century Dynasty, which has operated CamLoto since 2013, reports the Post.
Century Dynasty Chairman Stanley Goh Teik Keng said he is unaware of VW Win’s involvement in the proposed casino and theme park project. “Neither VW Win, CamLoto nor Century Dynasty have any involvement with MQ Technology to build a casino that I am aware of,” he said.
And Ros Phearun of the Ministry of Economy and Finance said he has not received an application for a gaming license. Even so, he told the newspaper, “A casino could be built along the Vietnamese border in Prey Veng, but not in the provincial capital, and would be able to apply and be granted a casino license as long as it is intended for Vietnamese gamers.”
According to CalvinAyre.com, the media reports raise more questions than they answer, as the proposed MQ casino site is around 100 kilometers (less than 63 miles) from Phnom Penh, home of NagaWorld. NagaCorp has exclusive rights to casino operations within 200 kilometers of Phnom Penh until 2035.
Meanwhile, a bill to amend the regulatory structure of Cambodia’s casino industry should be approved next year, said Phearun. As reported in the Khmer Times, it’s the first time the government has updated its gaming laws since 2014. The draft document reportedly proposed the establishment of a committee to regulate the sector, but reports in October gave no details about the likely tax regime for gaming establishments. Currently casinos pay a flat tax on gaming machines and tables at rates that are increased each year. NagaCorp Chairman Tim McNally, speaking at the Macao Gaming Show last month, said he anticipates “no surprises” in the final draft.
Gaming taxes in the country rose 35.5 percent year-on-year to US$37.4 million in the first nine months of 2016, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced in October.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese property developer VinaCapital is teaming up with Macau junket giant Suncity Group and a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook conglomerate to develop a US$4 billion integrated resort with a casino on Vietnam’s central coast.
The consortium has acquired four kilometers of beachfront near the UNESCO World Heritage city of Hoi An for Hoiana, as it’s called, which will be built in phases beginning early next year with an opening set for the first quarter of 2019.
Hoiana will initially feature a 445-room hotel and some 200 condos operated by New World Hotels of Hong Kong. Luxury hotelier Rosewood will operate another 75 villas and 25 residences.
Other planned attractions include a beach club, a live entertainment venue, water sports, retail shopping and a range of bars and restaurants.
The casino will be part of the first phase. A golf course also is planned.
“Hoiana is set to rank among Asia’s most renowned resort destinations, bringing a self-contained world of entertainment, leisure, pleasure and luxury lifestyle,” said project Chairman Don Lam.
A remodeled and expanded Da Nang International Airport is a key to the resort’s strategy. China is by far Vietnam’s largest tourist market, accounting for more than 27 percent of visitors, and VinaCapital, Suncity and the Chow Tai Fook subsidiary, Gold Yield Enterprises, are banking on direct flights from eight Mainland China cities to help transform the central coast into one of Southeast Asia’s top destinations
