PAGCOR Confirms Casinos Sell-off ASIA & OCEANIA
PAGCOR Chairperson Andrea Domingo has now confirmed that the Philippines government has ruled that PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp) must sell its casinos to support the proposed P3.4tn for the 2017 national budget
Radical shifts in the ownership of the Philippines’ gaming infrastructure continues beyond PhilWeb to the sale of PAGCOR’s casino estate
PHILIPPINES CASINO OPERATIONS
MACAU– Las Vegas Sands’ Parisian Macau has opened with 410 gaming tables, having been granted permission to open with just 100 new tables by Macau’s Secretary of Economy and Finance.
The amount will rise to 150 with 25 extra tables being allowed at the start of 2017 and another 25 a year later. This is exactly the same as figure allowed to the newly opened Wynn Palace.
Sands China’s President and Chief Operating Officer Wilfred Wong confirmed that Sands would take the total number of tables at the Parisian to 410 by transferring tables from its other properties with 49 catering for VIP gambling. The venue opens with 1,614 slot machines.
Sands’ owner Sheldon Adelson had wanted 250 new tables for the Parisian. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Vitaly Umansky said however that the allocation was ‘surprisingly good’ as there were concerns that Sands would get no new tables.
DS Kim, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong said: “While the government says the number of new tables is determined on an individual basis by each project’s offerings, we cannot help but think the table grant might be driven more by the timing of opening and the industry’s then operating environment.”
MACAU –MGM Resorts has bought 188,100,000 ordinary shares of its subsidiary MGM China Holdings from Grand Paradise Macau, an entity controlled by Ms. Pansy Ho.
As a result of the transaction, the Company owns approximately 56 per cent of MGM China’s outstanding common shares and Ms. Ho owns approximately 22.5 per cent.
“Our increased stake in MGM China and enhanced relationship with Pansy both reinforce our belief in the long term prospects ofMacau and the future success of MGM China, in which Pansy remains a significant shareholder and collaborative partner,” said Jim Murren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. “We remain focused on our strategic goals and believe we have taken another step to further position our Company to generate sustainable value to our shareholders.”
As consideration for the MGM China shares, the company issued to Grand Paradise ‘ subsidiary Expert Angels Limited 7,060,492 shares of its common stock and paid consideration of $100m. It also agreed to pay Grand Paradise a deferred cash payment of $50m.
P28 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM
Te Philippines government has ruled that PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp) must sell its casinos to support the proposed P3.4tn for the 2017 national budget.
Andrea Domingo, PAGCOR Chairperson, confirmed: “Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has told us to privatize Pagcor- owned casinos. We are now preparing the template for the planned privatisation so we could maximise the benefits for the government. Of the P46bn (US$990m) the state-run firm earned in 2015, half of it came from gaming operations, while licenses contributed the other half.”
In terms of how much the casino division might sell for, she added; “It’s improper even dangerous to give out haphazardly computed estimates. Tere are several things that have to do be done first just to establish baseline figures. I suppose the DOF will hire independent appraisers.”
Gaming Analyst Rommel Rodrigo of Maybank ATR said: “Pagcor’s move to sell its gaming
Las Vegas Sands still has sights on $10bn Busan casino
South Korea
Las Vegas Sands is still hopeful of being able to invest up to $10.8bn in developing a casino resort in Busan, a large port city in South Korea, famed for its beaches, mountains and temples. George Tanasijevich, CEO of Marina Bay Sands revealed that if ‘investment conditions are met’ the US casino giant would spend between 5 to 12tr won ($4.5bn to $10.8bn) on a Singapore style integrated resort.
Mr. Tanasijevich said in the paper: “Te best location for Sands Group to invest in is Busan. We are willing to move in as soon as investment conditions are met. Te city has an unlimited growth potential for its location lying between Japan and China, but
operations and stay as regulator is a step in the right direction as this will take away potential conflicts of interest. Te government will get the highest value if these casinos are sold as one rather than if the assets are sold separately. Bundled as one, these casinos will give buyers a massive advantage.”
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said: “Pagcor should limit itself in the regulatory functions and should privatise their casino operations, because quite frankly it is very difficult for them to outplay the [privately- owned] casinos.”
In other PAGCOR news, Cristino L. Naguiat Jr., the regulator’s former Chief Executive, has been found liable, along with five PAGCOR officers, by the Commission on Audit (COA) for P234m for lease of a non-existent property.
Vanderwood Management Corporation received payment for the lease of a 6,500 square meter space located within the Museo ng Maynila Complex for a gaming facility despite the fact that the premises to be leased did not yet exist.
is now suffering in obscurity due to lack of enough five-star hotels and exhibition and convention venues. If Busan really aims to become an international tourism city, we can do so by enlisting investors, just like Singapore that raised its profile as a premier tourist destination by increasing foreign tourist numbers. Tere were dissenting voices among Singaporeans when the government allowed casino resorts. As a compromise, we came up with a plan to charge 100 Singaporean dollars (US$74) to domestic guests. Currently only 20 per cent of Singaporean guests to the resorts play in the casinos.”
Mr. Tanasijevich mooted the idea back in March of this year, when he said: “We understand this is an important decision for the Korean government and people. We are patient and the pace of this doesn’t determine our interest level.
India
Delta Corp is buying Gaussian Networks, one of India’s leading online gaming operators for around $22m. Delta Corp owns three of the six offshore casino licenses in Goa and operates a casino in Daman. Gaussian Networks operates brands
Adda52.com,
adda52mart.com and
adda52rummy.com offering the Indian market not just online poker but rummy, scrabble, chess, pool and golf.
Adda52.com has a player database of more than 100,000 making it the largest online poker website in India. Hardik Dhebar, Group CFO of Delta Corp, said “If you look at the worldwide market both the online as well as the onshore businesses have co-existed and both have grown. So yes, the online space will grow, I am not denying that but I don’t think it cannibalizes or it will grow at the cost of the offline. I think the market is big enough for both.”
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