Australia to replicate full-sized Forbidden City

Chinese tourists Kelly Yang (R) and Amy Sheng pose for a picture in central Sydney June 17, 2013. Australia's coastal Wyong region outside Sydney, a pretty stretch of pristine beaches and wildlife-filled wetlands, isn't high on the travel agenda of most Chinese tourists. But the local mayor and a Chinese businessman have big plans to change that - by building a A$500 million ($480 million) theme park that will include a full-size replica of Beijing's Forbidden City and a nine-storey temple housing a giant Buddha. Picture taken June 17, 2013.[Photo/Agencies]

GAMING WARS

In the lucrative gaming sector, Australia is up against stiff competition. Macao, the world's largest gambling destination, is adding more than six new casino resorts in the next three years. The Philippines is building 'Entertainment City', a complex in Manila that will have four large integrated resorts - also in the next three years.

Crown Ltd and Echo Entertainment Ltd are waging an increasingly acrimonious war to gain a lock in Sydney on gambling tourists from Chinese mainland.

Echo, which holds the sole licence to operate a casino in the harbourside city until 2019, is lobbying for an extension of that exclusivity and an expansion of its Star Casino in an attempt to block Crown's plans for a high-roller gaming suite.

Crown's proposed VIP facility is part of a A$1 billion six-star hotel and residential development on Sydney's waterfront that majority owner, billionaire James Packer, has said will bring "thousands more Chinese tourists to Sydney that otherwise wouldn't visit".

Crown and Echo must submit proposals by June 21 and the government will approve only one, meaning either Crown builds a second casino or Echo remains the sole gambling operator.

Industry sources said the government was likely to approve Crown's Barangaroo development, allowing Packer to add to his expanding Asian gaming empire.

David Green, chief executive of Newpage Consulting in Macau, said two casinos in Sydney could add $1 billion to the local market, taking it to $5 billion in gaming revenue annually and putting it on par with Singapore, the third-largest gambling market in the world.