Hong Kong-listed Galaxy Entertainment Group is considering where to best put up an integrated resort (IR) in Japan, if it is fortunate enough to obtain a license when this is made available in the next couple of years or so.
Galaxy Deputy Chairman Francis Lui revealed to Inside Asian Gaming that the Group has filed requests for information with seven different locations in Japan. Among these are five cities: Nagasaki, Osaka, Tomakomai in Hokkaido, Wakayama, and Yokohama. The other two locations are the prefectures Aichi and Hokkaido.
During a media roundtable held in Tokyo, Lui said, “At the moment, we are continuing to study all the cities that are interested to have an IR in Japan… Different cities have different needs or different requirements and preferences. Bigger cities like Osaka and smaller cities like Wakayama–each of them have their own uniqueness and own preferences which is why we need to understand more before we make a decision.”
He said that the construction of specific nongaming facilities would have to complement the particular location chosen. “[I]n a city like Osaka, we would not be building a theme park such as a Universal Studios, and we won’t be building a baseball park in Osaka either because we don’t want to build facilities that would be competing with existing facilities,” he said, adding, “[W]e need to learn what we can do for each city—that’s our approach.”
Lui also said that the company was undecided on local partners to work with. “We are always looking for good, reliable Japanese partners to be helping the consortium… But on a shareholder level it is something we can’t answer at the moment because like in any international practice we have to decide which partner will do what,” he said.
According to the new IR law passed last July, the Japanese government will be awarding no more than three licenses to operators for the construction of large-scale casino resorts. No sites have been chosen yet, with public consultations still ongoing.
Notably absent among Galaxy’s choices is Tokyo, viewed as a possible candidate for an IR. Besides Tokyo, Japanese brokerage Nomura has pointed to Yokohama and Osaka as ideal spots for constructing IRs, due to the large local population, high inflow of tourists, and adequate infrastructure. Residents of Yokohama have already expressed negative sentiment to having an IR in their city.
Galaxy reported a net revenue of $3.56 billion for the first half of the year, 25% higher year on year. Adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, was $1.09 billion, up 34% from the same period last year.
Net profit attributable to shareholders increased 56% year on year, to $917.2 million.
