Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd. has reassured its investors that it has exclusive casino rights in the country after “questions” on those rights surfaced to “cause trouble or not.”
The company submitted a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earlier this week, breaking down its rights to operate a casino in Phnom Penh. According to the filing, the operator has exclusivity to run a casino in the capital and an area within a radius of 200 kilometers of the city. Certain geographical exceptions are attached to these rights, including “the Cambodia-Vietnam border area, Bokor, Kirirom Mountains and Sihanoukville.”
NagaCorp’s exclusive rights extend until the end of 2035 while its permit to conduct casino gaming activities in the country has a lifespan of 70 years from January 2, 1995. The operator is on track to finish the second phase of its casino project in 2017, which will cost around $370 million and will give rise to 1,000 new hotel rooms and suites to go with increased gaming options and a 4,000-seat theater.
The company also enlisted a handful of Macau junket operators, including Suncity Group and Asia Nation. NagaCorp even leased two of its Airbus A320 planes to a startup airline, allowing it to bring more Chinese VIP gamblers into the country.
The start-up airline Bassaka Air has big news of its own after recently being granted its aircraft operation certificate (AOC) from the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA).
“This is only the first step,” BA CEO Joseph Stecker told the PhnomPenh Post. “We have many more steps to go before we can schedule our flight … I cannot give any specific date.”
The AOC certification gives Bessaka Air the clearance to fly between Phnom Penh and China. Previous reports indicated that NagaCorp had a financial interest in Bessaka Air but Stecker has shot down those reports.
