Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

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paparazzi
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by paparazzi »

It will be a brave Barang that heads back to start up a bar. No certainty of expats returning.

However the Chinese paid silly money to take over the leases on many well situated bars on beach. Especially around the pier area.

Could be a few bars empty soon as the Chinese workers numbers reduce and turnovers can't cover the rent.
The online gambling workers had money and good bonus days and liked spending on drinking!! That money will disappear .

Maybe some nice bars and restaurant leases soon going begging!! Possible to see the return of expats in small numbers in next few years
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

YES/NO Sihanoukville ? Some say yes and some say no. Stay tuned.

Cambodia considers reversing online gaming ban, irking China
With so much money at stake, investors say restriction was only temporary
CLIFF VENZON, Nikkei staff writer
September 13, 2019 15:29 JST
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia may reverse a ban on its "out of control" online gaming industry, risking the ire of its closest regional ally China.

"We are not sure yet if it's an absolute ban or not," Ros Phearun, deputy director general of Cambodia's Ministry of Economy and Finance, told the Nikkei Asian Review on the sidelines of a gaming summit in Phnom Penh this week. "So let's wait and see the draft law first."

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte -- another regional leader who has forged closer ties with Beijing -- announced last week that he had rejected demands by Chinese President Xi Jinping to shut down the Philippines' own booming online gambling industry.

China-focused online gaming has become a powerful economic driver in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville as well in Manila, attracting hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers catering to clients situated mostly within mainland China, where gambling remains illegal.

The explosive growth of online gaming over the last two years raised hackles in Beijing, apparently forcing Cambodian Prime Minister HE to issue a directive last month halting new online gaming permits.

The directive says that dozens of licenses expiring at the end the year will not be renewed, noting that action is needed to tackle "security and social order," and adding that "foreign criminals" have been conducting "online fraud."

Mey Vann, director general of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, later walked back his deputy's remarks, telling the gaming summit in Phnom Penh that the ban on online gaming is definitive.

"We don't want the market doubting and waiting," Vann told the Nikkei Asian Review, adding that Sihanoukville's "out of control" growth had triggered the clampdown.

Cambodian officials recently ordered the demolition of 14 recently constructed buildings in the city, including a number of casino hotels that were found to be dangerously flawed following a building collapse in June which killed 28 workers.

According to local media reports, around 90% of businesses -- including massage parlors, restaurants and casinos -- in the beach boom town are owned by Chinese, and the influx of Chinese has led to a rising number of crimes like murder, kidnapping and extortion.

Still, industry insiders remain unconvinced and believe online gaming has a future.

"I think at the moment it's just a press release," said George Lazenby, general manager of Jin Bei Holding, which runs a land-based casino in Sihanoukville.

Jin Bei received an online casino permit last month and is looking to launch operations later this year.

"I think there's a bit of confusion about how this new law is going to be applied," Lazenby said. "There are a lot of people that have invested in this country, and [Cambodian authorities] don't want to upset them."

Lazenby said Jin Bei's online gaming permit was valid for 12 months.

"I still see a big potential here," said Kaare Ingvaldsen, the Asia-Pacific manager at U.K.-based sports betting data supplier TXODDS, who was attending the gaming summit to network with prospective partners.

Unfazed by reports that HE's directive had sparked mass departures of Chinese workers from Sihanoukville, Ingvaldsen said he believes the ban will be temporary.

"When the dust settles, I think they are going to send people [back] in," he said.

Maxfield Brown, business intelligence manager at investment advisory firm Dezan Shira Associates, said the upheaval in the online gaming industry is related to a lack of regulations and an inadequate tax regime that fails to benefit host communities.

New tax rules for online gaming announced in the Philippines could offer a possible solution.

"When the industry and the government find that fine line to walk," Brown said, "then it will be easier to regulate it, and you will probably see that down the line in Southeast Asia."

Daniel Li, CEO at Cambosia International and a former gaming executive in Cambodia, believes the government is serious about the ban.

The government saw social problems brought on by online gaming, Li said, moving HE to want "Sihanoukville to be a nice beach resort rather than a casino city."
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Media- ... king-China
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SternAAlbifrons
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

^^^
"George Lazenby, general manager of Jin Bei Holding"

Relax everybody, James Bond is on the job.
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by Clutch Cargo »

want "Sihanoukville to be a nice beach resort rather than a casino city."
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SternAAlbifrons
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

^^^ Post by CEOCambodiaNews » Fri Sep 13, 2019 9:34 pm -

Cambodia considers reversing online gaming ban, irking China
With so much money at stake, investors say restriction was only temporary
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia may reverse a ban on its "out of control" online gaming industry, risking the ire of its closest regional ally China. ^^^

This will be a really interesting space to watch over the next few months
- walk backs and wiggle rooms.

NB, this report ^^ came out of a gambling industry summit, so we could expect to hear these kind of doubts being thrown around.
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frank lee bent
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by frank lee bent »

Does HE have a record of changing his mind?
China is intent on banning online gambling throughout the region.
Presumably that will carry a great deal of weight.
There is a danger that allowing these criminals to continue will disrupt the social fabric to the point of revolt that outweighs the short term chaos created by their withdrawal.
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

^^^ I agree Frank. (provisionally)
This move to ban online gambling and to thoroughly clean up S'ville suits HE.
I am becoming more convinced he is serious about cleaning up the whole show.

He can do it now that he has a powerful patron and does not need to rely so much on the Barons. In fact he is best served by emasculating them.
We could be in for the first ever real spring clean.

And Cambodia is in a very different position to the Philippines with regards to defying China's will. There has been no indication of that on any front.
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by Phnom Poon »

i think this may be all optics
though with material effects on the local economy
china could block these sites quite efficiently, if they were really concerned
cui bono?

.

monstra mihi bona!
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by Anchor Moy »

frank lee bent wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 10:58 pm Does HE have a record of changing his mind?
Hmmm. :chin:
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paparazzi
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Re: Chinese Media Reports Exodus From SHK

Post by paparazzi »

I guess the casino owners down on the coast scratching their heads about all the empty space upstairs if the online gambling finishes.
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