Players showing their poker faces

illustration photo

A joint venture between VinaCapital and Malaysia’s Genting Group is the latest to receive an investment certificate to build a $4 billion recreation integrated resort.

The Quang Nam province project, licensed in December, 2010, consists of five-star hotels, resorts villas, gambling facilities for foreigners and 2,500 houses for sale or rent.

Following VinaCapital and Genting, Hong Kong-Polo Beach International Limited is seeking approval from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to build a $4.5 billion Mui Dinh tourism complex in central Ninh Thuan province with a gambling facility.

America’s Emerging Market Group is also waiting for government approval for a $3 billion project in northern Quang Ninh province. It will comprise a five-star hotel and a gambling complex with around 2,000 rooms, a golf course, an international convention centre, a horse racing track and entertainment park.

The race for licences shows Vietnam is on foreign investors’ radar screens with the boost to tourism being trumpeted by developers.

However, former vice chairman of the State Committee of Cooperation and Investment – now known as the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), said such projects would bring few benefits to the country.

Nguyen Mai said gambling resorts would cause social instability in provinces.

Previously, Canada’s Asian Coast Development Limited gained an investment certificate to build a $4.1 billion gambling resort in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. Other investors like New City Properties Development Company, Shores Hoang Dat Exceptional International Entertainment Joint Venture Company and Winvest Investment LLC also got the green light to develop recreation integrated resorts in the country.

“Provincial leaders usually thought that having a large recreation resort would be a good thing that could attract more tourists to their provinces. But, this is very dangerous. The government will find it very difficult to control gambling operations if it allows too many gambling projects in scattered provinces,” said Mai.

Although only foreigners and overseas Vietnamese are allowed to enter gambling facilities, Mai said it would be hard to police. “Gambling always creates social evils, so we should group all gambling integrated resorts into one place to control,” he said.

In addition, Mai noted, Vietnam had yet to have specific casino operating regulations.

In fact, the government has only earmarked Phu Quoc island as the only place in Vietnam for a gambling industry. The government is improving infrastructure on the island for encouraging investors to invest.

During a meeting with the MPI last month, Michael A. Leven, president at Las Vegas Sands Corp, said Vietnam should group gambling resorts into a place like Phu Quoc. He said Las Vegas in the United States and Macau offered a blueprint for Vietnam to follow.

Asian Coast Development Limited is now buiding the first phase including a five star hotel, 1,100 rooms, a 13,600 square meter entertainment area, retail space, restaurants, bars, lounges, conference and meeting areas, a golf course, and other leisure amenities, representing the first Las Vegas-style integrated resort development in Vietnam.

Hoang Dat-Silvershore completed a five-star hotel and a gambling centre, and is now building villas. However, it is not allowed to operate the gambling facility until all other facilities are completed.

The $4.3 billion project of New City Properties Development is facing obstacles in site clearance but the investor completed the contruction of an internal road within the project’s site.