Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | February 2014 24 V ietnam is continuing its solid record of economic growth from the past decade. Though the pace has moderated somewhat, growth over the past 10 years has varied from 5.2-7.5% and is expected to remain above 5% through 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund. Government stimulus measures have supported growth in recent years. Macroeconomic indicators also show stabilization in recent years, according to the World Bank, though not without challenges brought on by both internal and external structural issues. The country is also growing as a tourist destination. The number of international visitors increased 11% last year, according to official statistics, totaling more than 45 million and good for an estimated US$10 billion in revenues. The country’s seven casinos are growing revenues at a robust annual average of 10-15% a year, according to the Finance Ministry. They paid VND1.5 trillion in total taxes (US$72 million) in 2011. The attention now is on whether the government will end its prohibition on play by its citizens, an issue that has come to loom large in the wake of the opening of The Grand – Ho Tram, which has struggled on the casino side since debuting in July on the South China Sea coast about 90 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. The country’s largest and most luxurious resort, Ho Tram features 541 rooms and suites, 90 gaming tables and more than 600 slots and EGMs. The Vancouver-based investment group behind it, Asian Coast Development Ltd, has plans for muchmore. Construction has already begun on a second phase, with 559 hotel rooms and 14 villas to open in 2017, along with a second casino that will bring the development to Vietnam’s legal limit of 180 live tables and 2,000 slots and EGMs. US casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment, a major investor, will manage it. The 164-hectare site is configured for three more hotels or some variation, with high-end residential and/or luxury time-share mentioned as possible parts of the mix. The resort’s challenges are sizable, though, in the absence of locals play, principally because its location, while scenic, is difficult to access from Ho Chi Minh and the city’s international airport. But even with the ban, Vietnam’s potential as a tourist destination continues to attract interest. Rose Rock Group, an investment vehicle backed by the Rockefeller family, is partnering with Vietnam’s Vung Ro Petroleum Co. to develop a 200,000-square-meter site on Vung Ro Bayon the south-central coastwith760hotel rooms, 4,400 residences, COVER STORY VIETNAM Looking to a Larger Market The Grand – Ho Tram has struggled in the absence of locals play.