The government of South Korea revealed that it intends to issue two more large-scale casino licenses this year. The government’s decision is considered to be part of a bigger plan to expand the tourism industry in the country.
The South Korean government explained that two more casino resorts for foreigners only are to be given the green light along with the building of about 5,000 hotel rooms in 2015. The government deeply hopes this step will turn out helpful for boosting tourism investment by a sum estimated to about KRW3.5 trillion ($3.25 billion).
The two new casino resorts’ operators are expected to be chosen by the second half of 2015 by the country’s government. The project’s development is to begin as early as 2016.
Deputy finance minister Jeong Eun-bo revealed these intentions at a press briefing, saying that the Ministries of Finance, Land, infrastructure and Transport, Culture, Sports and Tourism and other government agencies plan to create a business environment that will be able to encourage investments, which amount to more than KRW25 trillion ($23.2 billion).
Deputy finance minister Jeong Eun-bo also shared that the government plan is aimed at boosting growth in tourism and promising service industries, which is one of the main factors that predetermined its decision.
That is the reason why the deputy minister of tourism Park Min-gwon shared that the country plans to lift the restrictions on building new integrated resorts. This means that the government is to permit such casinos to be built even inside free economic zones by both local and overseas investors.
The South Korean government believes that each of the two new properties will require a minimum investment of KRW1 trillion ($925 million). The plan was established by the country as a corporate investment.
This is not the first time when the South Korean government puts its efforts into creating a proper business environment for foreign investors, which have shown great interest towards South Korea. Not to mention the fact that the number of Chinese tourists in the country have sharply increased by 46% last year and reached 6.33 million.
This recent country’s policy was reported by the Standard Chartered Equity Research in the autumn of 2014, when SCER revealed the country was expected to issue up to three more licences on gaming resorts exclusively for foreigners. Last week, for example, foreigner-only casinos on domestic cruise ships over 20,000 tons received the local authorities’ approval.
