Global Casino BOOM

Asian Coast Development Ltd. is close to securing a US$780 million syndicated loan for its proposed casino resort in Vietnam, Chairman Michael Aymong said.

The loan will finance the first phase of the $4.2 billion project, he said. The   Vancouver-based developer had earlier considered an initial share sale as one of its funding options and may use that as an “exit strategy,” he said.

”You will see in the next two weeks who our lenders are,” Aymong said in a phone interview Thursday. “It’s more expensive to borrow money now but if you have an exciting and interesting project, you can negotiate some of the terms and conditions.”  (more…)

MGM MIRAGE Hospitality and Asian Coast Development Ltd. Announce Plans to Develop MGM Grand Ho Tram Integrated Resort in Vietnam.

Collaborative project to be owned and financed by Asian Coast Development and Managed by MGM MIRAGE

MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGM) and Asian Coast Development Ltd. (ACDL) today announced plans to develop the MGM Grand Ho Tram — Vietnam’s first “Las Vegas style” integrated resort. ACDL will own and finance the project, and MGM MIRAGE will provide development assistance, brand equity and operate the five-star integrated resort property upon completion.

MGM Grand Ho Tram will anchor the $4.2 billion multi-property Ho Tram Strip resort complex being developed by ACDL along the pristine beaches of the South China Sea. The Ho Tram Strip is set on a 2.2 kilometer strip of white sand located in the Ba Ria Vung Tau Province of southwest Vietnam, eighty miles from Ho Chi Minh City. MGM Grand Ho Tram will be the first component of what is planned to be the largest tourism complex in Vietnam. MGM Grand Ho Tram itself will feature 1,100 rooms, a world-class gaming and entertainment facility, luxury retail, chef-driven restaurants, high-tech meeting space, live entertainment stages, stunning nightlife, destination spa services, and an exclusive VIP area, as well as a variety of beach-front recreation activities. (more…)

This is great. Im having trouble keeping track of all the ANNOUNCED new casinos for Vietnam. I only have one question with this one. It sounds like a pretty big project, so why only a $50 million budget? I know financing is really tough right now, but $50 million??? What can you build for that?

Here’s the article:  (more…)

Wow…how in the world did I miss these articles?  I must have been too busy watching my nest egg evaporate over the past two weeks.  Good thing I got friends like Dewet out there sending me great stuff like this:

Giant looks to tread through casino gold

Malaysia’s Giant Group is looking to build a colossal hotel, residential and recreational complex in southern Dong Thap province.

An official of Dong Thap Planning and Investment Department (DPID), said the foreign investor had proposed to locate its US$4-5 billion project in the province’s Dinh Ba border-trade economic zone.

The 200 hectare proposed initiative on the border with Cambodia, will also feature casinos -a sensitive investment field in Vietnam.

The DPID official said that casino related businesses are appraised on Vietnam’s investment criteria, which includes financial scales and selective locations.

In March this year, Canada’s Asian Coast Development won a licence to develop the US$4.23 billion Ho Tram resort with casinos in the southern tourist hub of Ba Ria Vung Tau province.   (more…)

Lets see…world stock indices are plummeting…global credit crisis bringing world’s largest banks to their knees…get the point?

The point is there’s not a whole lot to report on the financing front, but that hasnt stopped the Ho Tram Strip’s Asian Coast Development from talking about a large potential IPO and debt offering.  Might as well wet everyon’s whistle well in advance so they can strike when the markets open up to them.

From Reuters:  (more…)

Dont get too excited, they havent launched an IPO yet.  It sounds like it could still be a few years away, or whenever gaming companies fall back in favor of investors.

I am talking about an article at Bloomberg that is a follow-up to the Asian Coast Development video I posted yesterday.  I am a little confused on one aspect of this Ho Tram Strip development though.  The company talks about finishing the project in 2010, but I am not clear if they have all the financing lined up yet.  It does look like they have one big investor, Harbinger Capital, that could provide capital, but Ive never seen anything saying they have (more…)

Two videos:

Interview with Asian Coast Development CEO. (thanks Dewet)

And an introduction video that outlines what the Ho Tram Strip project is all about.  (more…)

Pilot Basis??? Ok its a start, and apparently a big start based on the numbers being thrown around.  Thanks for this article Dewet:

Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province will develop a complex of tourism, entertainment, and casino services on a pilot basis there following the latest decision from the central government, an official of the island district said.

Phu Quoc Island.
The Prime Minister has just agreed to the scheme to carry out one pilot project on Phu Quoc and asked related ministries to draw up criteria to select the best investor for the complex, the official told the Daily.

“The Government has just agreed on the development of one complex of these services there,” he said.

He said that three to four big investors have shown keen interest to spend billions of US dollars in developing casino projects on Phu Quoc, not to mention numerous other small investors.

Phu Quoc Island, nearly an hour’s flying from HCMC, has a coastline of some 150 kilometers. It takes about an hour or so to fly from the 561-square-kilometer island to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia or Singapore.  (more…)

Its been a few months since Vietnam’s Ho Tram Strip news really broke and grabbed everyone’s attention. The gaming world has changed quite a bit since then, as you can all see by the plunge in stock prices of all the big Macau and Las Vegas casino companies.

When I came across this article I was hoping it wouldnt be a generic account of what the Ho Tram Strip’s plans are, and thankfully it wasnt. I was glad to see that it was an interview and that the reporter started the piece with the most pressing question on my mind:

When asked how he managed to get an investment certificate to build the US$4.2-billion Asian Coast Development Ltd. casino and beach resort complex in Communist Vietnam — one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in Asia — Michael Aymong smiles and says: “Simple. You just have to want to try.”

I would’ve like to have heard an answer that was a bit more definitive, but in today’s credit markets, that is probably the most honest and realistic answer.

One other quote that was mentioned in the article is the developer’s vision for the Ho Tram Strip: (more…)

Article on the ground breaking ceremony on May 24th.

When the Wall Street Journal picks up on something, you know its probably the real deal. The paper had an article called “Vietnam Makes Bet on Gambling”. You need a subscription to read it, so i’ll point out a couple facts, then ask you to read my updated Ho Tram Strip page where I have added data from a factsheet on the company’s webpage.

From the WSJ:  (more…)

This is really big news. It means the Vietnam casino boom that has been discussed is finally taking shape. The developer of the Ho Tram Strip casino resort, Asian Coast Development, has been given the green light by the Vietnamese government and is scheduled to break ground on the resort this Saturday.

Phase I of the Ho Tram Strip will cost $4.2 billion and will consist of two hotel towers with a combined 2,300 rooms, a 500 slot machine 90 table casino, golf course and im sure all the bells and whistles of a $4 billion resort. Ho Tram (more…)

Forbes has a quick interview with Fontainebleau’s owner Jeffrey Soffer of Turnberry and also gives a quick background of the company.  Looks like they have international plans in the Mideast (doesnt everyone?) and the Far East (I guess they mean the Ho Tram Strip).  (more…)

Here is a great overview of the casino boom that is underway in Vietnam. To be honest, there were so many billions of dollars being thrown around in the article that I lost track of the total investment.

You have to admit, Vietnam has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world - just take a look at one of the Phu Quoc Islands above. If Macao and Las Vegas can be huge tourist attractions, then just imagine the potential of some of these beach casino resorts.

Some of the big names that were mentioned and that I’m keeping my eyes on are:

• Asian Coast Development’s Ho Tram Strip casino and hotel complex
• Oaktree’s Hoa Van casino
• Trustee Swiss’s Phu Quoc Island

And there are plenty more so read the entire article.

Before we get carried away (more…)

You never know what to make of these announcements that some company you never heard of is developing a multi-billion dollar casino resort. This time its a company called Pearl of Asia, which is a subsidiary of Trustee Suisse, that wants to build a big casino complex on Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam. The size - US $9 billion. (more…)