Pagcor chief sees Philippines as key player in int’l gaming in few years
By Doris C. Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Belle Grande, one of
four integrated resorts in Entertainment City, is taking shape along Roxas
Boulevard. PHOTO BY RICK ALBERTO
MANILA, Philippines—The head of the of the
state-owned Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) sees the country becoming
a key player in international gaming, accounting for up to a tenth of the global
gaming market in a few years.
In a statement that reported on the
highlights of a recent regional forum, Pagcor chairman Cristino Naguiat Jr. said
that “compared to Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore, the Philippine gaming industry
has a long way to go in terms of revenue potential.”
“With the right blend of private sector
investment, regulatory maturity and improvements in tourism infrastructure, we
believe that a 10 percent slice of the world’s gaming pie in a few years’ time
is an achievable target,” he said.
Naguiat said the country’s growing
potential as the region’s next best bet for tourism and gaming was given
prominence during an international forum attended by the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations Finance Ministers and members of the international
investing community.
“The breakout session on tourism and
gaming during the 9th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ Investor Seminar (AFMIS) was well
attended by fund managers, stock brokers, stock market analysts, and
representatives of financial institutions. This indicates the high interest of
international investors on tourism—specifically gaming—as one of the main
engines for growth in the Philippines,” said Naguiat.
The Philippines recently hosted the AFMIS
at the Island Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong where Naguiat was invited as one of
the panelists during the breakout sessions. The forum was sponsored by HSBC,
Standard Chartered Bank, UBS and Bloomberg.
The forum promoted the region as an
investment haven. Among the highlighted Asian growth drivers are tourism and
gaming, resources and energy, real estate, infrastructure, and consumer and
retail.
Aside from Naguiat, the breakout session
panel for tourism and gaming also included Lloyd Nathan, CEO of Asian Coast
Development Ltd., which is developing the MGM Integrated Resort in Ho Tram,
Vietnam; Aireen Omar, CEO of AirAsia Berhad; Dato Lee Choong Yan, president and
COO Of Genting Malaysia Berhad; and Kingson Sian, president of Travellers
International Hotel Group, which operates Resorts World Manila.
“That forum gave us a chance to present to
the members of the investing community the growth areas in the Philippines. One
of them is gaming, which is growing in acceptance as an important element of
tourism. In fact, even our Department of Tourism has included it as a core
product under leisure and entertainment,” Naguiat said.
The Pagcor chief said that in his
presentation during the breakout session, he talked about the gaming landscape
in the Philippines, its growth potential, the country’s rich tourist attractions
and its strategic location to main markets.
“On the macro level, the Asia-Pacific is
in exciting times for global travel. The Philippines is geographically gifted
with respect to distances to the region’s most prolific travelers. And based on
statistics, the country is being visited mainly for leisure and entertainment,”
Naguiat said.
Travellers’ Sian supported Pagcor’s
proposition, noting that based on his company’s experience in Resorts World
Manila, “we are optimistic that we would do even better with the second property
(in Entertainment City). This is the reason why we are already planning for the
Resorts World Bayshore project.”
Four integrated resorts are being built by
Pagcor together with four private proponents in the 100-hectare Entertainment
City project. The resorts are expected to provide 5,000 hotel rooms that can
accommodate up to a million tourists annually and also offer over a million
square meters of shopping, gaming, hotel and entertainment.
“At full development, Entertainment City
is expected to have the capacity to deliver up to US$10 billion annually in
gaming revenues, as well as generate over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. We
are highly enthusiastic about this project and the impact that it will have on
Philippine tourism,” Naguiat said.
Naguiat was asked during the forum if
local players would be allowed to play in Entertainment City following the
Singapore model. “We cannot prevent them from going there. We do not want to
deprive them of the chance to see and experience the world-class entertainment
that the integrated resorts will provide. However, we will make sure that
regulation will be in place,” he said.
Only the Philippines and Vietnam have
integrated resort projects in the pipeline among Southeast Asian nations, he
added
No comments:
Post a Comment