VietNamNet Bridge - Investors are rushing to apply for new licenses and resume projects on racecourses and casinos, but experts say Vietnam should not grant too many licenses in the field.

Many projects on developing horse and dog race courses, capitalized at hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, have been planned in many localities throughout the country. 

The largest one is the complex of horse race course and sports & entertainment works capitalized at $1.5 billion in Vinh Phuc province, registered by South Korean GOMAX I&D.

As for casino, FLC Group recently announced that FLC and FLC-Faros would develop an integrated resort with casino in Van Don Economic Zone in Quang Ninh province.

Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, deputy chair of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, commented that foreign investors, who are knowledgeable and have experience in many countries, only come to Vietnam when they can see great opportunities here.

As Vietnam is an untapped market, the competition will be not too fierce for investors. .

Nguyen Van Toan, an expert on foreign investment, said that many of the foreign investors from South Korea and Hong Kong are interested in racecourse and casino projects in Vietnam. They all have experience in betting businesses.

Under the newly released government decrees, investors must have minimum capital of $2 billion to develop casino. The figures are VND1 trillion for horserace and VND300 billion for dog race. The required huge capital is a big challenge for domestic investors.

Toan commented that in this field, it is obvious that foreign investors have great advantages in investment capital.

He said that it is necessary for Vietnam to create policies that encourage foreign investors to set up joint ventures with Vietnamese partners. 

Vietnam enterprises can make capital contributions to joint ventures with land, material facilities and join management, while foreign investors will provide technology and finance.

Nguyen Tri Hieu, a renowned economist, said Vietnam should not grant too many licenses to foreign investors to develop casinos, because the business field won’t make great contributions to economic development. 

They are not production factories or business establishments which create many jobs, and the income won’t stay in Vietnam but will be transferred abroad. But the government will be able to collect tax. 

From March 15, 2017, Vietnamese citizens have the right to play at casinos licensed by the government. They must be 21 years old, have proof of regular monthly income of VND10 million ($450), and be subjected to third-degree taxation according to the law on individual income tax.

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Thanh Mai