The Taiwan-backed operator of Vietnam's biggest casino, Royal International Corp (RIC), may beat its profit target this year as it taps into the country's booming tourist industry by opening a Sheraton hotel in Halong Bay.
The company, which was floated on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange <.VNI> last month, said it expects to post a net profit of $10 million for the whole of 2007, more than triple last year's figure of $2.9 million.
RIC's plan to open a 200-room Sheraton hotel, the first five-star accommodation in UNESCO-recognised Halong Bay, in October, may help it beat this target, which was set late last year.
"When we set the profit and revenue target for 2007 we did not count the revenues from Sheraton hotel so it is possible that the actual revenues and profit for 2007 would be higher than the target," Royal International Corp's Equity Department head Tran Trong Nghia said.
The Southeast Asian country is encouraging investors to build high-end hotels, resorts, and golf courses to help sustain a boom in tourism, particularly from South Korea and China.
Recent government figures in the first seven months of this year soared 27.5 percent to 1.54 million people compared to the same period last year.
Casinos are only allowed to cater to foreign tourists as gambling is banned in Vietnam.
The company posted a net profit of $4.5 million in the first half, eight times higher than the same period last year, the company said on Tuesday.
Shares in RIC rose 1.44 percent to close at 141,000 dong ($8.7) each on Tuesday, valuing the firm at about $309 million.
RIC, 63-percent-owned by Taiwanese investors, is the only casino operator listed on communist-ruled Vietnam's stock market which now has more than 110 companies.
Source: Reuters
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment