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AMZ Holdings ready to roll as Taiwanese government legislates for island casinos
Taiwan is but a Presidential signature away from legalising gaming now that the Legislative Yuan has agreed to amend the Offshore Islands Act. The legislation requires the signature of the President to come into force and could see the first gaming licences being awarded in 2010, depending on how quickly a regulatory infrastructure can be developed and put in place.
The new legislation only applies to the offshore islands, not to the main island, but the national government will control permits and licensing.
"The president has always been a supporter of gaming as such, so we don't expect any problems," said Carl Burger, Vice President of AMZ Holdings PLC, which has spent eight years negotiating with 300 owners of small plots to acquire a 27-acre parcel of land on the island of Penghu. It has also obtained development approval for the land to be used for a high-end tourist resort.
The Taiwanese government has been advised by the Taiwanese Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) to follow the Singapore model which integrates gaming with major resort activities.
Land ownership in Taiwan is complex, with many owners involved and no government powers for compulsory acquisition of land for this kind of development. "Every company coming in will have three choices," Burger says. "They can assemble land like we have, they can do a deal with someone who has got a piece of land, or they can wait and see if the local government can actually provide some land."
While another Macau or Las Vegas is unlikely to be the result of casino development in Taiwan, there is certainly sufficient demand to support casino developments in Taiwan, Burger explains: "The Taiwanese are the largest group of people, apart from the Chinese, who move through Macau. With the Taiwanese population around 23 million, just on the Taiwanese market the resort could stand up by itself."
"Secondly there's inbound tourism. The recent change of government led to a thawing of relationships in terms of allowing Chinese visitors to come into Taiwan. There's a strong desire among Chinese to visit the area, particularly Penghu," he says, pointing out that the whole eastern seaboard of China is 45 minutes from Penghu.
