Inside Asian Gaming

33 Insurance policy An integrated gaming development with internationally recognised brands as partners may be a way of not only injecting new ideas and new capital into the country’s gaming sector, but also protecting Pagcor and the domestic gaming industry from political attack in the future. When a senior Pagcor executive was asked privately at the Asia’s GEM conference whether the future of the Manila Bay project could be guaranteed after President Arroyo’s current term expires in 2010, he replied it should be possible to have it built before she steps down.While this answer was refreshingly frank, it may not amount to the sort of unequivocal and positive response that bankers are seeking. Checks Those partners with operations in Las Vegas and Singapore may also face scrutiny from their regulators regarding any investment in the Philippines. While Pagcor may be efficiently and cleanly run, the country has some catching up to do before it fullymeets international standards on financial reporting. The Asia/Pacific Group, which helps countries to comply with international standards on such reporting, held a mutual evaluation of The Philippines in November 2003. After that evaluation, the APG convinced the Philippine government to tighten its anti-money laundering rules. Another APG mutual evaluation to measure progress is due in the fourth quarter of 2008. Clear-cut IAG askedMikioTanji,an advisor toAruze Gaming’s founder Kazuo Okada, about regulatory questions surrounding the Philippines. Mr Tanji, Director, President and Treasurer of Aruze Gaming America, was very clear about the position. “What other people may have done or not have done is not our issue. Our issue is to make sure whatever we do is in compliance with regulators in our markets. We are very interested in taking this project forward.” As Muhammed Ali said before his legendary boxing match against Joe Frazier in The Philippines in 1975:“It’s going to be a thrilla in Manila.” tering The Philippines for nearly 40 years. * The new project’s name is a bit of a mouthful due to its planning history, according to local media reports. In 2007, the working title was Pagcor City. The ‘Bagong Nay- ong Pilipino’ part came into being when another scheme originally scheduled for construction near Manila Inter- national Airport was moved to allow for a new terminal building. Now that it’s found a new home, the Bagong Nayong Pilipino portion has reportedly already broken ground on a 15-hectare plot at the northern end of the Manila Bay site.