Aquis cancels casino project; China's gambling crackdown to blame

Aquis Australia chief executive Justin Fung, the son of Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung, said the family company would push ahead with tourism and hotel projects on the Gold Coast.

The company is currently building the $440 million, six-star hotel at Main Beach in Surfer’s Paradise and has joined forces with Chinese multinational CCCC International to work on development projects on the Gold Coast.

The Fung family is also behind Aquis Entertainment, which is listed on the ASX and owns the Casino Canberra.

Aquis had planned to build a casino and resort, initially estimated to be worth up to $8 billion, near Cairns but shelved the casino aspect of the development last year. The Great Barrier Reef resort was touted as the largest integrated resort in Australia, which would help attract more than a million visitors to far north Queensland each year. Mr Fung said the casino market in Asia had slowed dramatically in the past year and there were few signs that a turnaround was imminent.

“We had proposed the development at Yorkey’s Knob but unfortunately that project is on hold for the time being,” he said.

“At the moment, we are working on some new developments plans. What was feasible then is not compatible with the gaming market in Southeast Asia and Australia.”

Mr Fung said the Chinese governments’ gambling crackdown under Xi Jinping’s administration had the biggest impact on regional wagering levels.

Seventeen Crown Resorts staff, including three Australian citizens, remain detained in China on ‘‘gambling-related’’ charges. A date for their trials has yet to be set and their future appears bleak because of the opaque Chinese judicial system.

“It’s (casino shelving) not just the result of Crown in China — it’s the result of general market trends for the sector,” he said.

“The project would have been pitched toward tourism.

“We are still incredibly bullish on Chinese tourism in the future,” he said.

The James Packer Crown group revealed its VIP revenue dropped by 47 per cent at its flagship Melbourne casino, which prompted the board to reduce its interim dividend earlier this year.

In its first-half results, The Star said more than three-quarters of its VIP revenue was sourced from Chinese visitors.

The Canberra Casino delivered a mixed set of 2016 full-year numbers when it said gambling revenue rose by 21 per cent to $22m.

However, the company declared an overall loss of $7.7m and Aquis Entertainment said a long-awaited redevelopment project should help revitalise the asset.