Hong Kong firms, Chinese gambling hit by Duterte’s freeze on reclamation in Manila Bay, Philippines
- Experts say gaming operators could take their business elsewhere, while litigation is a possibility for overseas firms committed to Manila Bay project
- The environment was a major concern in the Philippine president’s decision to withhold approval for the reclamation of more than 10,000 hectares of land
Joey Roi Bondoc, research manager at Colliers International Philippines, said Pogos would seek alternate locations for expansion should the reclamation bid not go ahead.
“There will be some impact in the short term. Office vacancy in the [Manila] Bay area is less than 1 per cent. The offshore gaming firms’ expansion is already stifled by limited office space and residential units,” he said. “So with less supply in the pipeline, these firms are compelled to expand outside Metro Manila.”
More than 50 Pogos – which mainly cater to punters from mainland China, where gambling is illegal – are currently operating in metropolitan Manila, where they employ an estimated 250,000 migrant workers from China.
Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, said Pogos’ operating costs were likely to rise if the proposed reclamation projects along Manila Bay were not pursued.
“Given the lack of land supply in central business districts [CBDs] in Metro Manila, reclamation has been an option to increase the supply of developable land that is relatively proximate to the CBDs,” he said.
