Casino tycoon Stanley Ho's son mulls building casinos in Taiwan

Lawrence Ho, son of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, expressed last week its interest in building casinos in Taiwan. Ho said it has an ideal geographical location, being near South-East Asia and China.

"If the Taiwan government lifts the ban on gambling, I am interested in making investments in Taiwan,” he said while attending a seminar in Taipei on Taiwan, Hong Kong and China business opportunities.

When asked how much he wanted to invest in Taiwan, Ho said it should be about USD 2.57 billion to USD 3.85 billion, the same amount he has invested in Macau and Singapore, respectively. Lawrence Ho is the chairman of Melco International Development Ltd, which is involved in building leisure resorts, entertainment facilities and casinos in many countries.

Taiwan is drafting a law to legalize gambling, hoping to develop the Penghu Archipelago, a group of 64 islands in the Taiwan Strait, into a special zone for gambling to lure foreign tourists.