Inside Asian Gaming

IAG OCT 2019年10月 亞博匯 59 日本 Y okohama City Mayor Fumiko Hayashi remained tight-lipped about an IR bid initially, but finally announced her intention to proceed on 22 August, making Yokohama the first Tokyo Metropolitan Area municipality to do so. The reasons given were, “To maintain economic power and respond to the decreasing population and insufficient tax revenue.” The local financial industry has backed the initiative, with the goal being to have a Yokohama IR open for business in the late 2020s at Yamashita Wharf, an expansive space covering 47 hectares. It certainly seems appealing. Just three hours after Yokohama confirmed its plans to launch an IR bid, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) announced it was withdrawing its interest in Osaka to focus solely on Tokyo and Yokohama. More recently, on 18 September, Melco Resorts & Entertainment did the same by declaring its own “Yokohama First” policy. On the administrative side, a supplementary budget of JPY260 million for IR-related costs was passed at the September regular city assembly, another clear step forward. JAPAN’S NEW FAVORITE Yokohama city has long been seen as Japan’s favorite candidate in hiding. With a population of 3.74 million – one million more than Osaka city – the size of the market and convenient access from Haneda Airport are among Yokohama’s notable advantages, as is its track record in MICE via the Pacifico Yokohama site. There have even been rumors of a secret agreement between US President Donald Trump and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – a rumor that certainly hasn’t been negated by the speed in which LVS, headed by one of Trump’s leading contributers in Sheldon Adelson, changed its focus after Yokohama’s announcement. The fact that influential pro-IR politicians and Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, are on Yokohama’s side is also considered to be an advantage that could sway the government’s preference in the city's favor when it comes to choosing IR locations. THREAT TO RIVALS So how are rival municipalities taking this emergent participation of Yokohama? In the first phase, up to three locations will be 日 本橫濱市市長林文子最初就綜合度假村 (IR) 的 競標三緘其口，但最終於8月22日宣佈有意角 逐，令橫濱市成為日本首都圈內首個參與競標 的城市。 角逐競標的理由是「保持經濟勢力，以應對 人口減少和稅收不足的問題。」 當地金融業對競標計劃表示支持，目標是在廿一世紀二十年 代末在山下埠頭開設一家橫濱綜合度假村，該度假村將佔地47公 頃，廣闊無垠。 這計劃看起來確實十分吸引，因此在橫濱正式確認角逐IR競 標的三小時後，拉斯維加斯金沙集團 (LVS) 便宣布將放棄大阪，轉 而把重點放在東京以及橫濱。近日，在9月18日新濠博亞娛樂更公 佈其「橫濱優先」政策。 行政方面，橫濱市議會於9月通過一項2.6億日元的補充預 算，將用於IR相關的支出，是政府另一向前邁進之舉。 日本新貴 橫濱市長期以來一直被視為日本最受歡迎卻又隱密的候選 城市。橫濱市擁有374萬人口，比大阪多出100萬，市場的規模和往 返羽田機場的便捷交通都是橫濱的優勢，而橫濱國際平和會議場 (又稱橫濱Pacifico) 的MICE產業更是另一不可忽略的強項。 有傳言稱美國總統特朗普和日本首相安培晉三之間存在秘 密協議 —— 在橫濱宣佈競標後，特朗普的主要支持者的拉斯維加 斯金沙集團便迅速改變其關注重點，這則傳言想當然並沒有被當 局所否認。 具影響力、支持IR的政界人士和日本內閣官房長官菅義偉亦 均為支持橫濱競標站隊，這亦被認為是有利於角逐競標的優勢之 一，更可能會影響政府在對IR選址上的偏好。 千帆競發 那麼其他城市是如何看待橫濱這次參與角逐的緊急決定呢？