Donaco owns a 95% interest in the casino business in Vietnam as a joint venture with the government and stated the group is not considering selling Aristo at this stage, despite the fall of stock value, opting to wait until the situation stabilises once borders open because the group sees great potential in the casino.

In a recent Q&A session, CEO Lee Bug Huy, and CFO Gordon Lo said that while both Aristo and Star Vegas continue to be impacted by the pandemic, the group will “continue to execute on the strategic initiatives implemented in the first six months, while keeping tight control over costs”.

The group doesn’t see anything that could potentially affect their recovery. The executives noted the vaccination progress should provide more stability, despite how long recovery might take.

“At this stage we do not expect the Thai Government to legalize gambling in the country,” said Donaco executives, when asked if the group has a plan in place to mitigate the financial risk in case Thailand legalizes gambling. “As we weather the impacts of Covid-19, we will carry on our rigorous cost control strategy and prepare for when the border reopens.”

They added a positive long-term outlook should outweigh the short-term losses. The group remains optimistic about the future of their casinos.

“We did everything we could during the first half to fix what had to be fixed internally, and we are now ready to move forward once the Covid-19 situation improves.”