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Crown's China crisis rolls on

How the story of the Crown Resorts arrests in China has unfolded

What has happened to Crown Resorts in China?

* All of Crown's detained employees in China have now been charged with the illegal promotion of gambling on the Chinese mainland

* The cases of the 17 Crown employees and the two former employees have now been referred to Shanghai's Baoshan District Court

* Three current staff members are currently on bail and another 14 are awaiting trial in a Shanghai prison

* The employees, including three Australians, were detained in China in raids on October 13 and 14

* Among the detainees is senior marketing executive Jason O'Connor, who works in Crown's international "high-roller" operations

Why were they detained?

* The Crown employees were detained - and have now been charged - in relation to China's gambling and gambling promotion laws

* Gambling, and any promotion of gambling, is illegal in mainland China, except for official lotteries

Where were Crown's casinos?

* Crown operated three casinos in Macau and one in Manila under the joint-venture Melco Crown Entertainment

* Following the detentions, James Packer-controlled Crown began scaling-back its China operations before selling its final Melco Resorts & Entertainment stake for $987 million in May

How have the detentions affected Crown?

* After the detentions in October, casino companies in Australia and New Zealand reported declines in their VIP businesses

* Crown holds casino licences across in Melbourne, Perth and in Sydney, where its Barangaroo property is scheduled to open in 2021.

* In May, James Packer severed ties with long-time business partner, Hong Kong businessman Lawrence Ho, cashing out of their Macau joint venture in a $1.34 billion total sale.

* The decade-long partnership officially ended on May 9, when Mr Ho's Melco International Development assumed Crown Resorts' final 11.2 per cent stake in the Macau-based Melco Crown Entertainment.

* Crown is now focusing on the Australian market, ramping up operations at Barangaroo in Sydney and pushing ahead with plans for a Japanese resort.

* Asian business law expert Dr Alice de Jonge of Monash Business School believes the arrests will not deter companies from trying to do business in the rich Chinese gambling market.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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