GGRAsia – NagaCorp exploring ‘IR’ at Siem Reap, Sihanoukville

NagaCorp exploring ‘IR’ at Siem Reap, Sihanoukville

Aug 28, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Casino investor NagaCorp Ltd says it is interested in “IR” development in the areas of Siem Reap and Sihanoukville in Cambodia, to complement its casino complex Nagaworld (pictured), in the country’s capital Phnom Penh.

The term “IR”, or integrated resort, is commonly used in the gaming industry to describe a large-scale complex featuring a casino as well as tourism and conference facilities. The term is sometimes also used to describe a resort with the latter features, but no casino.

Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp – which has a long-lasting casino monopoly in Phnom Penh – mentioned its Cambodia-market expansion aspirations in its interim results, published on Thursday.

“It is the intention of the group to be perceived as a more comprehensive and quality integrated resort developer with emphasis also on non-gaming as a source of revenue,” stated the company.

It added: “We anticipate that the non-gaming and gaming IR will co-exist with each other in a mutually beneficial manner.”

NagaCorp further noted: “It is the intention of the group to explore viable and profitable IR development in [the] Siem Reap and Sihanoukville areas. At that point of time, we believe that the group will gain a foothold as a strategic, sizable and comprehensive world-class IR developer to help promote tourism in the Kingdom of Cambodia.”

Siem Reap is near Cambodia’s UNESCO World Heritage site Angkor Wat, which prior to the pandemic was a popular attraction for foreign tourists.

The coastal city of Sihanoukville has grown rapidly in recent years, spurred significantly by Chinese investment in real estate projects, some of them linked to gaming, according to media reports.

Currently, NagaCorp is developing a Russian Far East casino resort scheme, at the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone, near the Pacific port of Vladivostok. The aim is to “commence operations by 2022,” according to the group’s earnings filing. The company is also expanding again its existing NagaWorld complex. Naga 3 has a US$3.52-billion price tag, according to statements by the group.