Worth a look
Includes interviews with people in the know, rather than the usual tuk tuk drivers and security guards....

crob wrote: ↑Thu Oct 04, 2018 8:41 pm can please not refer gambling as gaming

The source magazine here is called Inside Asian Gaming.http://asgam.com/index.php/2018/10/04/cambodia-rising/
Take it up with them if you don't approve.

What is this newspeak, "gaming", they mean "gambling".
Gaming is for teen computer nerds.

Casino mogul's Cambodia cash hedges investors' bet
May 06, 2019, 09:43:00 PM EDT By Reuters
By Katrina Hamlin
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.)

HONG KONG, May 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - NagaCorp's founder is giving investors a $1.8 billion confidence boost. Chen Lip Keong, also the company's chief executive, has pledged to cover more than half of the cost of building Asia's largest gambling resort, in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. The group faces more competition, and both Cambodia and the gambling industry depend heavily on China. But investors can find reassurance in the personal punt.

There are plenty of risks. For one, China has dominated investment into Cambodia, bringing expatriate workers and tourists. Links with Beijing have been strong under Cambodian Prime Minister HE, and the two sides announced a handful of deals including military aid late last month. But any economic wobbles across the border could be a headache, for visitors and for Naga. HE's dismal human rights record, moreover, hardly guarantees stability.

There are also more rivals for gamblers' cash. Local contenders are ambitious. Meanwhile, experienced operators like Las Vegas Sands and Genting are flourishing outside Macau - in Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam - drawing big spenders.

Chen still has a good hand. For one, he was first in a prime spot. The Malaysia-born boss has navigated an era of extraordinary change in Cambodia, and NagaCorp has grown steadily over two decades. He has some support from the government, visible in a concession that runs until 2065, and a monopoly in the Phnom Penh area until 2035. Chen hedges his China bet by cultivating a Southeast Asian clientele too.

Naga, with negligible debt, could arguably have raised capital on the market. But its risky profile does mean high costs. Chen, who already holds a 66 percent stake, converts his contribution into shares at the end of the six-year construction period at a not unreasonable HK$12 a piece, roughly a fifth above the current price. Importantly, he takes on the risk of delay and collapse too. It's a hefty show of support.
https://www.nasdaq.com/article/casino-m ... 0506-01350

There are many casino threads across the forum, so I've moved this latest one here because there is previous information on Nagacorp/Nagaworld.
There are several other threads on Cambodian casinos to check out here in the business section, including this one on the Australian company Donaco. Both companies get a mention in the article below.
business-and-finance/aussie-casino-comp ... 25885.html


Show Me the Money.
Post by Kung-fu Hillbilly » Sun Jul 28, 2019 9:26 pm
Robin Spiess
June 4 2019
The guard jolts out of his plastic chair when he sees someone out of place – a westerner – preparing to walk past him onto the casino floor. He calls out over his shoulder in Mandarin, wary eyes following the newcomer as he trails close behind.

"After a tense few minutes, the young guard escorts the newcomer back to the front door. He makes it clear that there is no place for the western visitor to play on the casino floor – strangely vacant though it may be. "

"The makeshift casino is not listed on Google Maps; it is meant to be found only by those who know where to look, down a dark road in the heart of Sihanoukville on the Cambodian coast. A cursory Google search reveals that the casino has developed quite a reputation despite its lack of official listing: “You don’t want to mess up here”, one writer warns.."

"In 2018, a total of $46 million was paid in taxes to the MEF – $12.4 million of which was paid by publicly listed casinos NagaWorld and Donaco, which together raked in just under $1.5 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) over the course of the year. The rest of Cambodia’s casinos chipped in to pay the remaining $33.6 million to the MEF, each paying on average just about $260,000 in taxes. "

"“One of the reasons the government has delayed passing the law is that some casinos are affiliated with government officials’ personal businesses,” said Chhay in a recent interview. “Among them, there is NagaWorld.”

"NagaCorp exists in its own legal sphere: with a 41-year monopoly on casino operations within 200 kilometres of the Phnom Penh city centre, the corporation will remain the sole casino operator in the capital until 2035, and has signed a 70-year license to continue operations in the city through 2065. In addition, NagaCorp has negotiated a tax structure for its casinos that – surprisingly – is in no way based on overall revenue generated, though the exact terms of the agreement have never been made clear. "

"In Sihanoukville, only a few dozen players actually sit at the baccarat and blackjack tables that stretch across the cavernous room of the God of Wealth casino. As live hands are dealt, however, the dealers’ eyes dart between the players before them and the computer monitors set up to the right of each gaming station, where more bets are being placed.Virtual gamers watch from cameras, playing as ghosts at each table, their presence made known only by the screens that show a running record of their wins and losses. "

Full extensive article https://southeastasiaglobe.com/show-me-the-money/