Tan Sri Chen Lip Keong, NagaCorp Ltd CEO, said in an interview last week that the monopoly casino operator in Phnom Penh may sell a licence to foreign companies, giving them the right to develop a new gaming property in the city. He added: “NagaCorp may consider any sub concession proposal when the timing is right.” The company has a monopoly to operate casinos within a 200km radius of the Cambodian capital until 2035, and isn’t subject to any legal restriction on selling secondary licences.

Keong, who owns 62% of NagaCorp commented that the company is catering to regional mid-sized gamblers who are taken to the Phnom Penh casino by junket operators and providing about 45% of the property's gaming revenue, with some 52% of casino revenue coming from local players. The operator’s revenue rose 69% to US$144 million in 2007.

Cambodia’s only publicly traded company is betting on growing wealth at home and in the neighbouring countries of Thailand and Vietnam to increase its revenue base beyond gamblers from China, Malaysia and Singapore. Gavin Ho, a Hong Kong-based analyst at CLSA Ltd., said: “As bigger regional players focus on the higher end, we expect NagaCorp will maintain its niche in the mass-end VIP segment.”

Singapore awarded bids for two casino resorts in 2006, cutting taxes on gaming revenue to the world’s lowest for so-called high-rollers. Japan and Taiwan are also considering allowing casinos in an effort to boost tourism, while Macau reigns supreme in the Asia gambling stakes. However, with a strong home following, the Cambodian operation looks quite solid. Keong concluded by insisting: “We are not competing head on with those high rollers in Macau." (E-07.01.08)

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