{"id":15269,"date":"2021-02-26T15:05:28","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T15:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=15269"},"modified":"2026-04-23T21:30:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T00:30:05","slug":"melco-still-hoping-for-an-ir-licence-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/melco-still-hoping-for-an-ir-licence-in-japan","title":{"rendered":"Melco still hoping for an IR licence in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lawrence Ho, Melco Resorts Chairman and CEO, has said he sees Japan as \u201cthe best potential new gaming market globally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Japan.- Melco Resorts chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho has said the company remains committed to seeking IR license in Japan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking during Melco\u2019s results announcement for 2020 Q4, Ho said: “Japan remains very much on the company\u2019s radar but added the company is looking to pursue the right opportunity<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited was one of seven companies that participated in the original request for concept process in Yokohama<\/strong><\/a><\/em> in 2019, when the city first called for bidders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Ho made no reference to Yokohama<\/strong>, since there is still no clear picture regarding the city’s plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ho added: “Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the process in Japan has been delayed and remains complex <\/strong>but has renewed momentum as jurisdictions are again initiating RFP processes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although current mayor Fumiko Hayashi <\/strong>expect the IR bid to go ahead, she has to confirm if she will run for a third term<\/strong> in office in August\u2019s mayoral elections. An anti-IR candidate plans to challenge the incumbent with a promise to end Yokohama\u2019s casino plans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lawrence Ho, Melco Resorts Chairman and CEO, has said he sees Japan as \u201cthe best potential new gaming market globally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":15307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Melco Resorts, through Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho, has reaffirmed its strategic commitment to securing an Integrated Resort (IR) license in Japan, despite acknowledging significant regulatory delays and complexities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While Japan is viewed as the premier new global gaming market, the company is seeking the \"right opportunity,\" with the situation in Yokohama remaining uncertain due to an upcoming mayoral election and the potential for an anti-IR candidate to halt casino plans.","focusai_entities":"Lawrence Ho, Melco Resorts, Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited, Fumiko Hayashi","focusai_location":"Japan, Yokohama","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (0.8), compliance_legal (0.7), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Melco's Japan Strategy","query":"Given the protracted regulatory timeline and heightened political uncertainty in Yokohama, what specific strategic adjustments is Melco Resorts considering for its broader Japan IR market entry, particularly regarding alternative prefectural opportunities or partnership structures?"},{"label":"Regulatory Impact","query":"How do the persistent delays in Japan's IR licensing process, coupled with local political volatility, influence Melco's global capital allocation strategy and its competitive positioning against other major integrated resort developers?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16338,158],"tags":[23632,665],"class_list":["post-15269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-east-asia-news","category-slider-home","tag-integrated-resorts","tag-melco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15269"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15294,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15269\/revisions\/15294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}