Korea Times – The government said Monday that it will ease regulations on the issuance of casino licenses to international investors. The plan was disclosed at a meeting presided over by President Park Geun-hye on how to boost the tourism industry. Up until now, foreign investors in casinos have been required to have credit ratings of higher than BBB.
“We will ease the restrictions,” said an official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST). “Even if bidders cannot meet the conditions, they can be licensed in case they stand out in other areas like financial capacity. The government does have to win the nod of the National Assembly for the rule change because it is an executive ordinance.”
It would be welcome news for global casino operators, which have strived to make a foray into Asia’s No. 4 economy. For example, LOCZ Korea has sought to build a mega-sized casino resort on the Yeongjong Island near Incheon International Airport through investing a total of 1.23 trillion won.
Yet, the ambitious project suffered a setback midway through last year when the MCST rejected it and one of the reasons was that the joint venture failed to meet the qualifications on the credit ratings. To form the LOCZ Korea, U.S. casino operator Caesars Entertainment joined hands with Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group and a local third party.
However, the country has no immediate plan to introduce such drastic measures as allowing locals to gamble at casinos ― all 17 such places currently under operation in Korea permit only foreigners to play.
