INDOCHINA 12
CAMBODIA
Light seen at the end of the Covid tunnel Cambodia is seeing a slow trickle of tourism return, with optimism that business will bounce back strongly once full normality has resumed.
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Nagacorp reported a loss for last year due he country was one of the first in Asia to reopen international borders in to the Covid closures, which forced it to shut mid-November last year, however, its doors for 6.5 months in 2021 compared visitor numbers have been slow to with just 3.5 months a year earlier. However, it had seen a stronger bounce pick up as many travelers are still required to back this time around, with business levels quarantine on their return home. Nagacorp’s NagaWorld property in the higher than they were prior to the second capital is open, as are most of the casinos in closure in March. The daily average of premium the coastal hub of Sihanoukville. There are mass rolling in December was $10.3 million, also talks for a relaxation of border restrictions exceeding the levels of January and February with Thailand, which would allow resorts in 2021. The daily average of EGM bills-in was $5.4 million and also exceeded prior levels, that area to also reopen their doors. This would include Donaco International’s while the daily average of mass table buy-ins of $2.7 million was 87.2 Star Vegas resort in percent of its February Poipet, which has been 2021 levels. closed since April 2021. The mass table buyTourism arrivals to The influx of ins further improved in Cambodia reached a record January to $2.9 million. investment has high of 6.61 million in The mass market 2019, generating some brought with it a made up 49 percent of $4.91 billion in receipts growing legion revenue last year and for the government accounted for 70 percent and making up about a of workers. of gross profit, compared fifth of gross domestic with 29 percent and 59 product. That number percent respectively the fell to just 1.31 million prior year. visitors in 2020. Executive Deputy Chairman Philip In recent years, China has been by far and away the largest source market and although Lee has said that the property is largely longer term the Kingdom still views the Mainland insulated from the lack of outbound China as being key to its tourism sector, it’s likely to tourism as it benefits from a strong domestic be one of the slowest segments to recover as market among the foreign residents living in Cambodia. Locals are not permitted in China maintains its zero-Covid policy. Aside from tourism, Cambodia does have a the casinos. Nagacorp said it’s progressing with the growing expatriate workforce which may help underpin gross gambling revenue, especially development of Naga3, with Chicago-based at NagaWorld, which has a monopoly on Skidmore, Owings and Merrill now having casino gaming within a 200 sq km radius of completed the conceptual design work. However, in March the company said the capital Phnom Penh. Chinese foreign investment into the it had put plans for an integrated resort in country in the first half of 2021 was $17.3 Vladivostok on ice indefinitely. The company said it was citing “force billion, accounting for just under half of the total. The influx of investment has brought majeure” for the suspension in construction works, although analysts at Daiwa cited with it a growing legion of workers.
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Asia Gaming Briefings | April 2022
management as saying that the halt was due to the sanctions in force against Russia as a result of President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The analysts said Naga will probably seek to dispose of the project. In February, Nagacorp had said that work on its delayed Russian project was progressing, with the construction of the structure of its hotel tower block now complete. The company had planned to continue work this year, but it gave no update on an expected completion date. Naga Vladivostok’s first phase was to comprise an 11-storey four-star hotel with 279 rooms, a casino and a multipurpose concert hall with 2,000 seats. The first construction stage will occupy an area of almost 55,000 square meters. The total area of all planned facilities of the Naga Vladivostok complex will occupy almost 302,000 square meters and include 2,719 rooms. The project also provided for a water park area.