It would appear that Taiwan is once again stepping into the limelight with regards to casino development. At the end of the ‘90s Las Vegas Sands was considering a casino on the offshore Penghu islands (Pescadores) but abandoned the plan in 2000. In 1999 the Isle of Man registered Amz Holdings (Amazing) signed an agreement for a parcel of land on the Fongkue peninsula in Penghu to start the process for constructing a casino resort. Last week Lawrence Ho of Melco International Development said he was interested in building casinos in Taiwan.

At the beginning of this month William Weidner, president of Sands, commented in a press interview following a visit to Taiwan that his company was no longer interested in a casino in remote Penghu but would consider large population areas with good infrastructure, such as Taipei or Kaohsiung. The government of Taiwan is now actively pursuing casino legislation but is believed to still favour development to boost the economy of Penghu, a group of 64 islands in the Taiwan Strait.

The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) expects to submit a bill entitled "Regulations Governing the Gaming Business" to the Legislature for approval in the spring 2009 session. Amz Holdings has had its 5-star resort Enterprise Plan approved by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and now awaits gaming legislation in order to add a casino to its project. President Ma has been quoted as saying, “Both Premier Liu and I have reached a consensus to resolutely go ahead with the development of the gaming industry in the offshore islands.”

Lawrence Ho is also waiting for the Taiwanese to lift the ban on gambling, considering the country’s location near South-East Asia and China to be ideal for casino development. He said he would consider investing between HK$20-30 billion (US$2.5-3.8 billion). As recently as December last year lawmakers voted against casino legislation and gambling is still a controversial issue for the Taiwanese. However, with both the President and the Premier pushing for casinos to boost tourism, some major players in gambling operations could soon be looking at options in Taiwan. (E-09.22.08)

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