Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | 26 Between China and China to foreign passport holders. In 2011, India’s Delta Corp., Goa’s largest casino operator and owner of two Colombo venues, bought land in the capital for which it has been looking for partners to develop a resort- scale casino and supporting hotel. Delta has in the past been in talks with MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment about possible tie-ups in India, only the Indian government doesn’t allow foreign direct investment in gaming, an obstacle that finds Sri Lanka in a position of increasing importance as a gateway to the subcontinent’s increasingly affluent and leisure-hungry millions. This year, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board is targeting India, China, the Middle East, Russia, South Korea and Japan with a $6 million marketing blitz showcasing the island’s considerable natural and historical attractions and the fact that these are accessible from just about anywhere in Asia, thanks to an international airport and an international airline, Sri Lankan, that flies to 68 destinations in 33 countries. The government has its sights on 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2016 and US$2 billion in related receipts. This should get a boost from a recent agreement reached with India to start running ferries again across the Gulf of Mannar. The service had been halted for years by the Tamil insurgency. S peaking at a press conference in Taipei last July, two days after the residents of Taiwan’s Matsu islands voted narrowly to approve casino gambling, Weidner Resorts boss William Weidner recognized the need to respond to concerns about whether the tiny, undeveloped archipelago hugging China’s Fujian coast can support a 21st century destination resort. “I don’t see any problems that cannot be solved by modern technology,” he said. Earlier this year, Weidner unveiled a dramatically expanded vision for the island chain: a veritable resort city to open in phases, consisting of clusters of high-rise hotels and providing 70,000 direct jobs. He says it will attract 5 million to 7 million visitors a year for starters, and he says he has commitments from a consortium of banking giants for around US$2.5 billion, a substantial portion of which is earmarked for bringing Matsu’s primitive infrastructure up to snuff. This will include expanding the small airport on the island of Beigan, constructing a ferry harbor and a bridge linking Beigan with Nangan, the other major island, and developing electrical generation and water treatment facilities. He has also reached across the Taiwan Strait, apparently with some success, to sell officials in Fujian with its 37 million inhabitants on the wisdom of joining forces. In December, Weidner Resorts signed a preliminary agreement with Hong Kong ferry operator Chu Kong Passenger Transport for service between Fujian’s capital of Fuzhou and Matsu. Weidner also has proposed development of a supporting tourist hotel near Fuzhou, whose 4.4 million urban residents (together with the 5 million of the port city of Xiamen farther south) are considered key to the success of whatever ultimately gets built on Matsu. Fuzhou officials like the hotel idea, according to Weidner, as does Taiwan’s pro-business Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang Shih, whose department has recently drafted a preliminary regulatory framework for gaming on Matsu for consideration by the Legislative Yuan, the national parliament. The legislation would impose an effective 14% tax on gaming revenue which includes a 7% “franchise fee” for the first 15 years of operation, increasing to 8% through year 25 and 9% thereafter, and a local government tax capped at 7%. The minimum age for entering a casino would be set at 20, and a number of Singapore-style safeguards are proposed, such as banning recipients of government allowances and individuals who have been declared bankrupt or have bad credit records. The bill would also allow family members, close relatives or partners to request exclusion orders on relatives. At a press conference following the release of the legislation last month, Mr Yeh said he doesn’t envision a resort casino on the scale Weidner proposes to open on Matsu before 2019. Significantly, he said also that the government is not considering allowing casinos on Taiwan proper. These are still very choppy political waters. Relations between the PRC and the Republic of China have thawed considerably over the last decade, but China still considers Taiwan a renegade province, and Fujian’s Lianjiang County actually claims the archipelago of Matsu as its territory. On Taipei’s side, the idea WilliamWeidner COVER STORY TAIWAN