After the furore following the publication of his e-mail linking Singapore and money laundering, the chief economist in Asia of Morgan Stanley has resigned. Asian casinos, including in Macau, have long been criticised for lax anti money laundering regulations and three years ago the Malaysian Cambodia-based casino operator NagaCorp Ltd had its bid for listing rejected in Singapore. Last year the Hong Kong Stock Exchange also rejected NagaCorp, citing concern over internal money laundering controls.

Trying for listing a third time, the NagaCorp IPO is now underway in Hong Kong. 500 million shares are on offer of which 450 million will go to institutional investors and the remaining to the public. Former senior members of Hong Kong Police’s serious crimes division are on a committee set up by NagaCorp to ‘effectively mitigate the risk of money laundering’. The proceeds of the IPO are expected to be around HK546 million (US$70.1 million), the majority of which will be used for expansion of the company’s integrated hotel, gaming and entertainment complex NagaWorld in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

NagaCorp owns a casino licence granted in 1995 and running for an amazing 70 years. The company also has exclusive rights to operate within a 200km radius of Phnom Penh until 2035. Last year net profit rose 41.3% to US$24.9 million. NagaWorld will be further developed to include an 8-storey entertainment wing with an additional 124 gaming tables and 211 gaming machines, and a 14-storey 508-room hotel wing with 52 gaming tables. Dealing of NagaCorp shares in Hong Kong is expected to commence on 19 October.
(E-10.06.06)

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