Cambodia felt a little cooler in December, but this wave of cooler was not just a change in the weather, but even Cambodia's hot economy cooled down a little after Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a gambling ban order.
This day, I was in Phnom Penh with my friend Alan to see the annual real estate exhibition. During the exhibition, I heard other people talking about the prohibition of gambling in Sihanouk port.
"You haven't been to Xigang for a long time, right?" Allen asked.
"Sihanoukville is so common that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a travel warning on its official website. I won't go there if I have nothing to do. I'll find the website to show you. Look here, "The public security in Sihanoukville, Cambodia has deteriorated recently, and violent and criminal cases have frequently spread. People who go to Xigang should strengthen risk prevention." "I said.
"Haha, it seems that Phnom Penh is better. However, the ban on gambling is still effective. Once it was issued, it caused the Chinese to withdraw in a whirlwind. " Said Alan.
The picture shows the advertising model of new luxury apartments and hotels displayed by Chinese real estate developers in Sihanouk, Cambodia
According to the news, China decided to crack down on Internet crimes such as telecommunication fraud across the country, so it and Cambodia jointly implemented law enforcement to arrest the illegal Internet gambling industry overseas on a large scale. The Cambodian government has also officially issued a ban on gambling, and plans to eliminate all kinds of illegal online gambling institutions by the end of the year. The enforcement places are especially concentrated in border cities such as Xigang, Bayu and Pobe.
Because these areas are located in remote areas, sometimes the law enforcement force is beyond reach, so many illegal online gambling companies led by Chinese capital have gathered. After setting up bases in Cambodia, these companies turned back to carry out online fraud, online gambling and other activities in China, which really bothered the Chinese government. Therefore, China asked the Cambodian government to face up to this problem and carry out joint law enforcement, with the goal of making all illegal online gambling disappear in Cambodia.
"In fact, it is because of China's strict demands that Cambodia has provided serious assistance this time. You are not unaware of the chaos in Xigang. Shootings and robberies are frequent, and public security is not good. In addition, too many people want to take the gambling train to make money, and offer many high-paid jobs, such as online dealers and other online real estate and prices. Therefore, a group of people squeezed into Xigang, raising local real estate and prices, causing serious conflicts between the Chinese and the local people. The Cambodian government had only arrested them symbolically before, but did not arrest them seriously. But this time, it was just right to go with the flow and resolved all the problems at once, and it happened to be one of the political achievements." I replied.
"But the only thing that affects is the illegal online gambling industry, and formal casinos have not been affected. I see many people leaving messages online saying that without online gambling, Cambodia's economy will enter the Great Depression, which is too exaggerated. However, looking at the photos, many buildings are indeed empty. Tenants moved out overnight after hearing the rumor of the wind, and they don't have any deposit." Allen said.
In this action, the Cambodian government issued a press release to clean up the online gambling industry without a legal license. However, because most of the online gambling companies in Cambodia are illegal and mostly gather in Xigang, after the issuance of this decree, a large number of illegal employees left Cambodia, which has indeed brought Xigang into a stage of economic cooling, Among them, renting houses has become much easier, rents have become cheaper, local prices have begun to fall, and economic activities are not as hot as before.
If the investment heat in Xigang drops, the real estate industry in Xigang is the most worrying thing for investors. From the data point of view, the real estate prices in West Port began to surge in 2015 because of the development of gambling and entertainment industry. By 2018, it was almost the same price as Phnom Penh, and not much difference between bubbles. The rapid development of this port attracted only the tourists who gamble, but it could not create long-term stable advantages, which could be said to be a highly investment project. Once encountering a big change of national policy like this, the inducement disappears, the local housing demand drops sharply, and the development of real estate will be affected immediately.
Although in this real estate exhibition, the builders said that the construction project continued and the relevant sales promotion remained the same, but the insiders knew that the real estate in Xigang would enter a cooling period, so it was difficult to attract overseas investors in a short term.
In a word, Xigang should not have developed in such an abnormal way as gambling. Even if there is no online gambling camp, Xigang also has its original economic activities, including clothing industry, tourism industry and agriculture, which have created a lot of employment opportunities for the local area. This is the more regular way of development.
Of course, the Cambodian government is also happy to see it. Although it may bring a certain impact to the local economy in the short term, after such a sweep, Xigang can restore its original appearance, while reducing investors' concerns about local public security, attracting better investors to set up companies in Xigang, so that the local economy can develop in a positive direction, rather than relying on illegal industries to survive. After this incident, the economy of Xigang will face a new round of reshuffle. However, I believe that as long as the Cambodian government can continue to maintain such a governing policy, I believe that sooner or later it will be fair to Xigang and create the legendary Qing and Beauty quiet resort.
