FLC Group plans casino expansion in Vietnam

In an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review in Tokyo, Trinh spoke about Bamboo Airways, FLC's recently established airline unit, which will fly both domestic and international routes.

"We want to have direct flights from overseas to areas where we have resort facilities," Trinh said.

The unit has held talks with Airbus and Boeing over aircraft purchases, eyeing deliveries in 2022, according to FLC. It will also consider renting commercial planes before 2022. The airline unit is slated to begin corporate operations next year, in order to finalize the necessary government procedures.

Trinh also discussed the company's plans to develop a casino resort in Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam, home to the iconic Ha Long Bay World Heritage site. The company has already acquired a 20-sq.-kilometer site for the project, he said. In addition, FLC will add more beach and golf resorts in the country.

According to government statistics, international visitors to Vietnam for the first eight months of this year increased 30% from the year-earlier period to 8.47 million. Moreover, with rising incomes, increasing numbers of Vietnamese are keen to see more of their own country.

A recent World Tourism & Travel Council report showed the tourism industry's contribution to Vietnam's gross domestic product will increase nearly 90% to $34.6 billion in 2027 from $18.4 billion last year.

"Thanks to its long coast line, Vietnam's tourism industry has huge potential," Trinh stressed.

FLC currently has some 20 projects, both under construction and up and running, including resorts, condominiums and industrial parks, in Hanoi and seven provinces, mostly in coastal areas.

The chairman mentioned that his group, which was founded in 2001, had strategically gone after less developed areas to distinguish itself from rivals such as real estate industry leader Vingroup.

"Since our group is a latecomer to the real estate market, we chose areas [that were] remote from big cities," he said. "Especially, we have focused on areas that could lure tourists but were untapped."

According to data from QUICK-FactSet, it made a net profit of $46 million in 2016, almost 10 times the figure from three years earlier. Last year's capital expenditure reached $153 million, exceeding its operating cash flow of $137 million.