PHILIPPINES: Casino Operator Searching Outside Asia For Better Business

Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts has been shifting its focus, eyeing countries outside Asia for expansion.

The company has been struggling of late, due in part to the slowing economy in China. So it is scrambling instead to expand its operations in countries less affected by the slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Bloomberry opened the Solaire Resort & Casino in 2013, the first integrated gaming resort in Entertainment City, a government-backed development project near Manila Bay. The city will have a total of four big casino resorts. The Philippine government focuses on casino resorts as a major attraction in the country's tourism industry.

Solaire's resort complex is made up of premium hotels and other entertainment facilities, including casino space. Visitors can also spend time enjoying theater programs.

Bloomberry is led by Filipino-Spanish businessman Enrique Razon, who also serves as chairman of International Container Terminal Services, which runs container ports and terminals in 20 countries.

In the Philippines, casinos are crowded with local people, thanks to the increasing number of middle-class consumers in the country. That said, the gambling sector's core revenue from casino operations is mainly driven by the rich, with lots of money to spend.

Bloomberry suffered a net loss of 1.5 billion pesos ($31.4 million) for the January-September period. For the same period a year before, it logged a net profit of 3.3 billion pesos. The gloom is likely attributable to the Chinese economic slowdown and President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive, which is discouraging wealthy Chinese from visiting the casino complex.

The company is therefore putting greater importance on casino operations in countries outside Asia, aiming to mitigate the negative effects from China. For example, the casino operator has already made its move in South Korea. Besides, Bloomberry is proposing to build a casino site in Buenos Aires, while vying for a gaming license in Cyprus.

Major global casino operators, including those in Macau, the world's largest casino destination, are taking a revenue hit. The focus of attention is how much the Philippine company can grow its earnings, amid such gloomy surroundings.