The chief operating officer of Philippine casino and leisure complex Newport World Resorts, in the capital Manila, says the group would be “interested” in acquiring state-owned casinos in the country if the government moves forward with a plan to sell them.
The comments by Hakan Dagtas (pictured) were made during an interview with GGRAsia.
Alejandro Tengco, chairman and chief executive of the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), had in late March said the body was looking to raise circa PHP80 billion (US$1.44 billion) from the sale of its public-sector casinos, citing a wish to split regulatory from operating functions.
“Once we understand what is for sale and how much is it, and how they’re going to do it,” things should be clearer in terms of whether to get involved, said Mr Dagtas.
“Are we going to be able to buy a single property or is Pagcor going to sell four or five different properties as a block?” added the industry executive. Once there is detailed information available, “we will make our decision,” Mr Dagtas said. “But we are interested,” he added.
The executive stressed the group was only eyeing acquiring particular properties. “I don’t think there will be anybody who’s going to buy 40-plus casinos,” he added, in a reference to the entire Casino Filipino portfolio controlled by Pagcor.
Newport World Resorts is owned and managed by Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. The latter is controlled by Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc.
Maybank Securities Inc said in an April note that Travellers International “may be a candidate” as a buyer if there were any sell-off in relation to state-owned casinos in the Philippines. This, added Maybank, was due to Travellers Internaional’s “plans to set up small casino-hotels in tourism estates”.
In April, Armin Antonio Santos, the president and chief executive of Philippine-listed Premium Leisure Corp said the firm would be interested in joining the bidding if the government decided to sell its Casino Filipino venues.
Mr Dagtas – a veteran gaming executive with 15 years of experience in the Philippines – admitted in his comments to GGRAsia that talks about Pagcor selling its casino portfolio had been a recurring topic for more than a decade. “But it has never been as vocal as now, with the new [Pagcor] chairman and the new [presidential] administration,” he pointed out.
“The way I see it, it is going to happen, but the timeline is not yet known,” Mr Dagtas said.
