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Bloomberg
Philippine property shares got a boost after President Rodrigo Duterte said his country benefits from online casinos, standing pat on the industry despite China’s call for a total ban.
“I decide that we need it. Many jobs will be lost. Anyway, it’s
government-controlled,†Duterte said in a televised briefing, when asked what he told Chinese
President Xi Jinping about Philippine online gaming operators.
The rally in property companies was led by Filinvest Land Inc and Megaworld Corp, among the country’s top landlords, which each gained as much as 5.6 percent in Manila. Other builders exposed to online casinos also climbed, with DM Wenceslao & Associates and DoubleDragon Properties Corp gaining more than 3 percent each.
Investors have dumped Philippine property stocks amid concern Duterte will clamp down
on the offshore gaming industry, which is overtaking business process outsourcing firms as Manila’s source of office demand.
China wants the Philippines to stop all forms of online games, as it continues cracking down on a practice it says causes an illegal outflow of money. Online and phone betting has exploded in countries such as the Philippines and Cambodia over the last few years due to demand from gamblers in mainland China.
Duterte also said that he and Xi had long agreed on a 60-40 revenue-sharing arrangement that would favour the Philippines should joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea
proceed.