NagaCorp COO hopeful on potential increase of mainland Chinese vistors to Cambodia this year

Citing improved direct flight capacity, Mike Ngai, Chief Operating Officer of NagaCorp Ltd., voiced optimism on Tuesday over the expected growth in mainland Chinese visitors visiting Cambodia this year.

his pattern is probably going to assist the casino industry in Cambodia in recovering its gross gaming revenue (GGR), especially NagaCorp Ltd., which has a long-term monopoly license to operate the NagaWorld casino complex in Phnom Penh.

By 2024, according to Ngai, the company plans to expand in all business segments, including mass, premium mass, premium VIP, and junket. NagaCorp’s premium VIP gaming segment, which includes house-managed VIP play at NagaWorld, has already recovered to more than 100% of its 2019 level, despite the obstacles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ngai said that many Macau junket operators ceased operations at NagaWorld during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not resumed their business. This highlights structural changes that occurred in the industry during the pandemic, particularly in the junket segment. Still, the company has successfully transformed regular mass players into elite mass players, since NagaWorld’s minimum bet for high-limit mass-market gaming currently ranges from $200 to $300.

Mass gaming operations accounted for 65.4% of NagaCorp’s $514.8 million gross gaming revenue for the full year 2023. But just 29.9% of its $1.72 billion GGR in 2019 came from this amount; 72.3 percent of GGR in 2019 came from the VIP market.

Ngai said they may scale down the size and expense of Naga 3 for NagaWorld in order to raise funds for the company’s casino resort project in Primorye, Vladivostok, Russia. Although no serious bids have been made as of yet, Philip Lee Wai Tuck, Executive Deputy Chairman and Executive Director, said that the company would consider selling the Primorye project if big and reasonable approaches were received.

The company planned to build a casino, hotel, and convention center in Primorye for around US$350 million. When the project was put on indefinite hold in March 2022, much above-ground work had already been completed.

Original story by: GGRAsia