Vietnam Legalizes Business in Cambodia, Informs Sun City, HKEX
Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group Holdings Ltd has argued that if casino and gambling businesses in Vietnam and Cambodia are promoted outside of Hong Kong, they will not violate Hong Kong laws because the gaming business is legal. The company said casino and other gambling businesses will be pursued outside Hong Kong accordingly.
“Casino and gambling businesses will operate in Vietnam and Cambodia, both of which will have licensing schemes in place for gambling businesses and receive appropriate permits,” the statement said.
“The group will remain in touch with relevant government authorities in those jurisdictions and will relate to and participate in Vietnam [ese] and Cambodian legal advisers to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations in those jurisdictions,” it added.
Suncity Group Holdings is chaired by Alvin Chowchukwa, who controls Macau junket investor Suncity Group.
In a filing Friday, Suncity Group Holdings said it plans to engage reputable accounting firms to come up with appropriate internal controls, policies and procedures to prevent serious crime and money laundering.
The company noted that it is still developing internal controls, policies and procedures for its Vietnamese and Cambodian operations. It added that it will engage Vietnamese and Cambodian legal advisers in contact with relevant authorities in Vietnam and Cambodia to comply with the country’s laws, rules, regulations and government policies to counter money laundering.
The company announced a deal this month to establish and operate a casino at a resort in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The deal was signed by its subsidiary, Sihanoukville Ltd., and Golden Sun Sky Entertainment Ltd., the owner of the casino resort.
Sihanoukville is currently seen as a market targeting “mid- to low-priced” mainland Chinese tourists, and its industry lacks “meaningful laws” or enforcement, meaning there are risks for established gaming operators. But brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd said the move to invest in Sihanoukville was a “capital light approach” that did not put Sun City’s capital at risk.
In August, Suncity Group Holdings announced it had taken a 34% stake in the casino scheme in the Vietnamese resort city of Hoi An. The deal, worth about HK$600 million ($76.4 million), gave British Virgin Islands-listed Star Admiral Inc control of the rights to the proposal for a casino with 140 tables and a wholly owned subsidiary with about 1,000 slot machines.
Suncity Group Holdings reported a net loss of nearly 1.65 billion yuan ($241.8 million) in the first half of the year. The Hong Kong-listed company does not include privately owned sources of revenue from Suncity Group’s junket operations.
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