Inside Asian Gaming

IAG NOV 2020年11月 亞博匯 73 2020 亞博匯50強 CHEN LIP KEONG FOUNDER, CONTROLLING SHAREHOLDER AND CEO NagaCorp 曾立強 創始人、控股股東及行政總裁 金界控股有限公司 12 POWER SCORE 權能指數 : 1,485 POSITION LAST YEAR 去年排名 : 14 CLAIMS TO FAME 名成事跡 Majority owner of Hong Kong listed NagaCorp Personally financing half of its US$3.5 billion Naga3 addition • • • • 香港上市公司金界控股的控股股東 個人為金界三期（Naga3）項目發展所需的35億美元提供一半資金 CHEN LIP KEONG keeps writing one of the most impressive stories in Asian gaming. Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp, of which the former physician owns 67%, reports that prior to a COVID-19 shutdown from April into July, its NagaWorld integrated resort in Phnom Penh increased gross gaming revenue by 15% in this year’s first quarter, printing profits and EBITDA for the first half and paying a dividend to investors. In its August reopening, largely thanks to the Cambodian capital’s burgeoning Chinese expatriate population, NagaWorld’s VIP roll was 98% of the first quarter daily average, mass table buy-ins 90% and machine bills-in 93%. That follows two years of GGR comfortably topping US$1 billion following the opening of the IR’s Naga2 extension in November 2017. Designed by Paul Steelman, Naga2 makes NagaWorld competitive with top regional destinations, and its VIP revenue has nearly doubled from US$625 million in 2017 to US$1.24 billion last year. Amid close ties between Cambodia and China and expanding wealth across Southeast Asia, NagaCorp is developing US$3.5 billion Naga3, featuring a rooftop swimming pool and sky high gaming suites overlooking the Mekong River in the tallest tower in Cambodia, its scheduled 2025 completion unchanged by COVID. Cambodia’s government extended Naga’s monopoly within a 200km (124 mile) radius of Phnom Penh by 10 years to 2045 as part of the expansion agreement. NagaCorp’s gaming license runs to 2065. Following the playbook from Naga2, Dr Chen is financing half the cost in exchange for equity that will lift his ownership stake to 74%. Not bad for a novice operator who started on a barge in a country still reeling from decades of war and a genocidal regime in 1995. Cambodia is finally in the process of enacting its long awaited Gaming Law, approved by the cabinet in July and passed by the National Assembly in September. “Although it is expected to result in a very modest gaming tax – the lowest in the region by a country mile – it elevates Cambodia’s gaming industry via the introduction of a more international standard regulatory system. This in turn increases the value of Naga’s license," says Union Gaming's Grant Govertsen. No wonder Dr Chen keeps acquiring shares. 曾立強 持續撰寫亞洲博彩業中最令人印象深刻的故事之一。他曾為醫 生，持有香港上市公司金界控股的67%股權。該企稱，新冠肺炎疫情爆 發，導致其位於金邊的綜合度假村項目金界娛樂城於4月至7月期間關 閉，但該項目在疫情前，第一季的博彩總收入錄得15%的增長，令上半 年EBITDA及盈利錄得正值，可向投資者派息。金界娛樂城在8月重開後， 鑑於柬埔寨首都金邊新興的華僑人口，其貴賓廳轉碼數已恢復至第一季 日均水平的98%，中場賭桌及角子機投注額亦分別恢復至90%及93%。 自該項目的金界二期（Naga2）於2017年11月對外開放後，其博彩 總收入往後連續兩年每年超過10億美元。由建築師Paul Steelman設 計，Naga2令金界娛樂城可競爭成為區內博彩旅遊首選目的地，項目的 貴賓廳收入亦從2017年的6.25億美元，翻了近一倍至去年的12.4億美 元。 中國和柬埔寨關係緊密，東南亞人的財富亦正在增長，因此金界控 股正在發展總值35億美元的金界三期（Naga3）項目，包含建造柬埔寨最 高塔樓，內設天台游泳池和高空博彩套房，可俯瞰湄公河景色。Naga3將 按原定計劃於2025年完工，未受疫情影響。作為Naga3項目條件之一， 柬埔寨政府亦延長了金界控股在金邊方圓200公里（124英里）半徑內的 博彩專營權多十年至2045年，金界控股的賭牌期限則至2065年。遵循 Naga2的模式，曾立強醫生為Naga3發展提供一半資金，以換取在金界 控股股權增持至74%。 這成績對剛剛開始的博企來說是不錯的，尤其是柬埔寨過去數十 年間曾陷入戰亂，以及種族滅絕政權於1995年才倒台。該國亦終於制定 期待已久的《博彩法》，該法於7月獲得柬政府內閣批准，並於9月獲當地 議會通過。 Union Gaming的Grant Govertsen稱：「雖然《博彩法》預計將對企 業徵收非常適中的博彩稅，可說是區內博彩稅最低的國家，但通過引入 更加具國際標準的監管體系，提升柬埔寨博彩業的形象，從而增加了金 界控股賭牌的價值。」 難怪曾立強醫生不斷增持金界控股股權。