Orix Corporation, MGM Resorts’ largely unsung partner in a multibillion-dollar integrated resort (IR) in Osaka, Japan, is taking a few bows in advance of the scheduled April groundbreaking.
In comments on 9 January on the company website, Kansai region representative Toyonori Takahashi said he’s confident the IR “will attract many visitors and tourists, both from the rest of Japan and from overseas”. Importantly, he adds, MGM Osaka will stand up to competition from “established IRs in Asia, particularly in Macau and Singapore”.
He adds that Japan’s other attractions, “from food to culture to nature… give it strong advantages over these smaller cities”. MGM Osaka, on Yumeshima Island on Osaka Bay, is set to open in 2030.
Potential JPY1.6 trillion investment
MGM and Orix have pledged up to JPY1.6 trillion (£8.2 billion/€9.7 billion/$10 billion) for the resort. They have an advantage out of the gate: no competition at home.
In IR legislation approved in 2018, the Japan government made three IR licences available. But it only issued one, to MGM and Orix in 2023. For the near future, that gives the IR an exclusive lock on casino gaming. MGM and Orix each hold a 40% stake in the project. The remaining 20% is split among local investors, including transportation and power companies.
It doesn’t hurt that Orix already has its fingerprints all over the Kansai region. It developed Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport and even runs the rent-a-car concessions. Last year, it bought two hotels in Osaka. It also owns the Orix Buffaloes baseball team.
The one-time leasing company, which marked its 60th anniversary in 2024, has grown into a global conglomerate, operating in 30 countries and regions. Its wide-ranging interests include financing and investment, banking, real estate, energy, industrial equipment, shipping and aircraft.
Japan brightens outlook for Orix, MGM
Orix says the Osaka IR “contributes to its overall Kansai strategy of attracting and serving tourists and travellers to the region”.
“I believe projects like Yumeshima… contribute both to our company and to Kansai as a whole,” said Takahashi. “I am confident to the success of Japan’s first integrated resort development.”
Financial analyst Albert Anthony said the IR also strengthens MGM’s bona fides.
“Although the macro outlook for Las Vegas is mixed for 2025, MGM has been growing in Asia and has a diversified US portfolio beyond Vegas,” he wrote on the financial website Seeking Alpha.
He gave the stock a “buy” rating, “agreeing with the analyst consensus from Seeking Alpha and Wall Street”.
More tourism attractions for Yumeshima
Osaka mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama says the city and prefecture have more big plans for Yumeshima Island, which will host the 2025 World Expo from April to October.
According to Kyodo News, after the expo closes, the 1.5 million-square-metre site will be developed into a motor racing circuit or a water-themed resort facility.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/casino/mgm-partner-orix-says-japan-ir-could-outpace-macau-singapore/
