Pagcor expects to make P30 billion

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) announced they will be making more than P30 billion this year and has even earned a quarter of this amount already during the first three months of this year.

In an interview, PAGCOR chairman and CEO Efraim C. Genuino said that in spite of the slowdown in the global economy that has mildly hit the country, Pagcor is still on track to meet its year end target.

 “We are hitting the target that we set for the year. For the first quarter, we have already gotten one fourth of the target,” he said.

Genuino said PAGCOR was able to earn P28 billion in 2008.

He said they will be able to record an increase even if spending in other things have slowed down given the downturn in the economy.

In fact, investments in the PAGCOR City project is continuously coming in. Genuino said that they are negotiating with three multinational firms that will bring in a minimum of $3 billion worth of new investments in the Las Vegas type city before the end of the year.

Genuino said he doesn’t know exactly how much these firms will put in the country but the minimum investment in the PAGCOR City is $1 billion. This means that the investment would be more than $3 billion.

He added that the new investments will bring in more jobs to the country. This is on top of the more than 200,000 jobs they will create with the construction of resorts, hotels and casinos from April to June this year.

Genuino refused to divulge the name of the new investors, saying only that they are from Europe, the United States and Korea. “These firms have global personalities,” he said.

 He said PAGCOR is in the process of reviewing the investment proposals. He said the study is expected to be completed within two to three months and the investment will hopefully come in before 2010.

Genuino said investments for the PAGCOR City has deviated from amusement and has instead shifted to tourist attractions the entire family can enjoy. “Only three percent of the entire investments are geared towards gaming. Majority are tourist attractions.” 

The Genting group of Malaysia and the Azure group, the Japanese partner of casino mogul Steve Wynn, each of which would be spending at least $3 billion, are the first two investors in the PAGCOR City .

The other is the investment of mall tycoon Henry Sy’s SM Investment Corp. The company is in talks with a US-based casino operator and is considering developing a one to 1.2 hectare casino facility at an estimated cost of P2 billion to be rented to casino operators.