Lawrence Ho changes Russia for Japan
The casino mogul has given up his business in Russia in order to improve his chances to score a casino licence in Japan.
Japan.- The upcoming Japanese casino market has the main companies of the industry turning their efforts to the archipelago. Lawrence Ho is a clear example as he has recently stated that he gave up control of a casino resort in Russia in order to improve his chances of scoring a casino licence in Japan.
“Rarely do you find a first-world country like Japan with the infrastructure, tech and people already in place, yet the potential still so big,” he told the Nikkei Asian Review and added: “Japan is where we spend the most time these days.” It is expected that Melco Entertainment would invest US$10 billion to build an IR in Osaka, where it expects to win a licence.
“I did not want to do anything that would jeopardize how Japanese regulators see my other activities,” said Ho, who sold down his entire stake at Summit Ascent Holdings, which controls a casino resort in Vladivostok. His decision and comments are related to an international conflict between Japan and Russia over the latter’s annexation of Crimea. “Given that my main focus is Japan… I said let’s quickly clean that up,” he stated.
