The Taiwan-backed Royal International Gaming Club offers 24-hour gaming in Ha Long, VietNam. The casino is located on BaiChay Beach and Ha Long is a World Heritage site. There are entertainment and recreational facilities, restaurants, villas and a hotel on the complex. The casino has 18 gaming tables and 70 slot machines. Royal International Corporation (RIC) operates three other casinos in VietNam.

Last week the company announced that it had delayed a 20 July 2007 initial public offering on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange to next month because of problems with listing paperwork. RIC has now said that it expects to list before the end of July. The company, which operates the largest casino in VietNam, hopes to raise over US$100 million on 31 July to fund further expansion. RIC reportedly wants to invest in an international airport in Van Don, in exchange for shoreline land for casino resort development.

VietNam has one of south-east Asia’s fastest growing economies. Foreign investment continues to grow and, following 12 years of negotiations, the country joined the World Trade Organisation last January. VietNam’s relatively young population needs the creation of new jobs, hence the government’s determination to boost the economy. In the first six months of 2007, foreign investment in tourism projects is estimated to be in the region of US$700 million. However there is some evidence that the widening urban-rural disparity is causing concern, as is the fact that a few Vietnamese have become very wealthy perhaps through contacts or corruption.

The beautiful coastal regions of VietNam have been targeted for MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) developments. Investors from Hong Kong, Korea, the United States, Japan, Germany and Spain all have interests in the tourism sector, including casino complexes. Vietnam’s casinos are open only to foreigners or to non-resident Vietnamese. (E-07.24.07)

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