CAMBODIA

Naga 3 to be 90 percent non-gaming with focus on tech

NagaCorp has revealed details of the third phase of expansion at its NagaWorld property in Phnom Penh, which will have a strong focus on non-gaming activities and high tech.

The group says 90 percent of the $3.5 billion expansion will be nongaming and the enlarged property will create the largest “riverine” integrated resort in the world, overlooking the Mekong River in Cambodia.

The resort will be built over a maximum of 544,801 square metres and will feature five hotel towers, with 4,720 rooms. It will be linked to the existing Naga 1 and 2 through an underground walkway.

The property will be designed by Steelman Partners, the firm of architects behind some of the world’s most iconic casino properties, such as Las Vegas Sands’ The Venetian.

Nagacorp says one of the key components will be a three-floor digital entertainment zone.

“The Naga 3 Project will showcase a life-style product consisting of gaming and non-gaming spaces and comprise amenities and facilities which are not available at Naga 1 and Naga 2, notably hi-tech virtual reality interactive indoor theme parks, more shopping and MICE facilities and family recreational areas etc. to impart a more satisfying, penetrating and complete visitation experience,” it says.

This theme park is designed to occupy over 28,000 sq m over three levels. The design features 30 of the latest digital attractions, with a forecast annual attendance of more than 1.65 million people per year.

The attractions are to be focused on the digital future as well as showing a digital representation of the glorious past of Cambodia’s Age of Angkor Wat. NagaCorp says they will be constantly updated to spur visitation.

Other design features include a lobby zip line ride through a digital landscape, that Steelman expects to become one of the most instagrammed sites in the region.

Work is expected to start in September this year and be completed by the end of September 2025.

NagaCorp says it will fund half of the project through its internal cash flow and the remaining amount will be funded by the group’s controlling shareholder, Tan Sri Dr. Chen Lip Keong, who will buy subscription shares in the company.

In April, Moody’s Investor Services forecast the company’s revenue will rise at about 10 percent a year until 2020. The group said it’s optimistic it will maintain that growth through to the end of 2025, due to strong tourism growth in Cambodia and inbound investment.

It also points to its monopoly position within a 200km radius of the capital and to the fact it has no restrictions on the number of gaming tables and machines it can add. It says it’s in a position to add 800 new tables and 2,500 electronic gaming machines.

The casino design will be in a “cell concept” pioneered by Dr Chen, with gaming floors of different design and amenities interspersed in the non-gaming areas.

Police arrest 8 for alleged Sihanoukville kidnappings

Eight Chinese men were arrested in Sihanoukville in July for their alleged involvement in two kidnappings at the Queenco casino, according to local news.

Police confiscated a Lexus 570, ten phones, 13 ATM cards, 3 passports, 4 Chinese IDs and other objects. The suspects have been sent to the police station for questioning.

Over the years, a number of Chinese kidnappings have taken place in the Cambodian coastal town, which has become known as a hub for Chinese gaming.

In a recent report, it was revealed that as many as 95 percent of all businesses in the town are owned by Chinese nationals.

Cambodia sets up AML working group

The Cambodian government has announced a new working group and action plan aimed at cracking down on money laundering in the nation. “The police measures have not been effective. We are going to strengthen our enforcement, and not only at border crossings,” police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun was cited as saying by the Phnom Penh Post.

Around $4 million in cash has been seized at Phnom Penh International Airport alone this year, while around $10 million in dirty money has been detected flowing through banks.

It is unknown how the crackdown may affect Cambodia’s online and land-based gambling industries.