Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JUN 2019年6月 亞博匯 37 日本 The Japanese government has confirmed delays to the establishment of its national casino regulatory body as well as publication of its fundamental policy on the establishment of IRs. 日本政府已經確認將推遲成立國家博彩監管機構，及推遲公佈有 關建設綜合度假村的基本政策。 「並非大阪沒有盡其所能。」他解釋道，「而是有多個監管程序 都需要在項目啟動前先獲簽字批准，所以他們很大程度上受限於時 間。」 將日本的綜合度假村從計劃變成現實的過程隱約呈令人疲憊 之勢，而現在又加上必須根據日本國土交通省公佈的基本政策進一 步推進的要求。只有待基本政策公佈之後，地方政府才能有所行動， 包括公佈他們自己的政策指引方針、啟動概念建議書（RFP）征集流 程、篩選出綜合度假村運營商合作夥伴，以及制定出綜合度假村發 展計劃——所有這些都須先經國家政府的批准方能實施。 大阪在其所能範圍之內，已經率先行動於四月公佈概念書征集 流程。此舉令Choudhary認為大阪可能會先於其他競爭城市而率先 得到綜合度假村經營牌照。而其他諸如東京或橫濱等地，則可能在 一兩年之後才會跟進。後者至今尚未作出任何競投牌照的表示。 時間並非運營商們唯一的擔憂。預估開發投資所需的金額日漸 高企——新濠博亞娛樂執行副總裁兼財務總監Geoffrey Davis就表 示這個數字將超100億美元——觸發了普遍對於融資問題的擔憂。 這個問題主要有兩個方面。從盈利能力方面來看，眾所周知，日 本的綜合度假村身處的將是全球監管最嚴格、賦稅最高的博彩司法 管轄區之一，後者將對博彩收入征收30%的單一博彩稅。該稅率雖 然低於澳門博彩運營商被征收的39%，但遠高於鄰國新加坡（中場 – in the world with a flat tax of 30% on GGR. This falls short of the huge 39% tax faced by operators in Macau but is considerably larger than neighbours Singapore (18% for mass and 8% for VIP), the Philippines (25% for mass, 15% for VIP) and Korea (20%) to name just a few. Profitability will also be limited by a restriction on maximum gaming area to 3% of the total IR floor space, a JPY6,000 (US$56) entry fee for locals and mooted ban on junket operations. According to David Bonnet, Managing Partner at Delta State Holdings Ltd, such restrictive policies don’t align with the huge development costs expected. As a result, “Due to the huge disconnect between what the Japanese government will write into legislation and what the Japan megabanks are saying they require in order to underwrite a project financing loan, there will be difficulty in obtaining traditional integrated resort mortgage loan financing from local lenders.” Bonnet adds that while the situation may in fact create significant opportunities for global investment