Inside Asian Gaming

IAG APR 2020年4月 亞博匯 65 日本 PROS • Strong cash reserves • Access to huge VIP database • Provider of luxury services CONS • Very much a Chinese company • History as a junket operator may cause issues with Japan authorities VIP Gaming Promoters (often referred to as “junkets”) have been the lifeblood of Macau and much of the gaming industry across Asia – providing the lion’s share of Macau’s mind-blowing gaming revenues each year. Once representing as much as 75% of Macau gaming revenue, this proportion was down to around 50% in 2019 as the mass market continued to grow, but that 50% still represented nearly US$20 billion in gaming revenue. The undisputed king of all VIP Gaming Promoters in Asia is Suncity. The company is so ubiquitous, it operates VIP rooms in all of Macau’s major IRs across all six Macau concessionaires, as well as bringing action to the Philippines and elsewhere across the continent. Suncity is so dominant it controls over 45% of the VIP market – almost as much as every other VIP promoter combined. The ironic thing is that it has become clear in recent years that Suncity’s Chairman and CEO Alvin Chau would love nothing more than to change hats and become an IR operator. He has made strides to do so in numerous ways, such as developing the Hoiana IR in Vietnam, which will see some facilities ready this year, and taking control of Tigre de Cristal in Vladivostok, both under Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group Holdings Limited (HKEx: 1383). Suncity Group Holdings Limited has also become partners with Korean operator Paradise in Busan and most notably signed agreements to develop and operate the casino and hotel at Manila’s Westside City Resorts World in Manila, currently scheduled to open at Entertainment City in late 2022. Suncity will be looking to promote the diversification of its business arms as a major advantage in fulfilling 優 • 雄厚的現金儲備 • 龐大的貴賓客戶資料庫 • 奢華服務提供 缺 • 非常中國的一個公司 • 作為博彩中介人營運商的歷史可能會令日本當局質疑 貴賓博彩業務營運商（通常被稱為「博彩中介人」）一直是澳 門乃至亞洲大部分博彩業的命脈——每年都在澳門令人歎為觀止 的博彩總收入中佔據最大的比例。這一比例一度高達澳門博彩總 收入的75%，但隨著中場市場的持續增長，該比例在2019年下降 至50%左右，但即使這50％仍然代表了近200億美元的博彩收入。 在亞洲所有的博彩中介人公司中，太陽城是當之無愧的王 者。該公司覆蓋範圍廣泛，不僅在澳門六大博企中皆設有貴賓會， 並於包括菲律賓在內的亞洲多個地方開展業務。太陽城雄踞業內 主導地位，其掌握了超過45%的貴賓市場——幾乎是其他博彩中 介人市場的總和。 饒有意思的是，最近幾年，太陽城集團主席及行政總裁周焯 華顯然希望將頭銜換成IR營運商。他多方切入該領域，齊頭並進 取得長足進展，譬如在越南發展了會安南岸綜合度假村，後者將