Australia-listed casino operator Silver Heritage Group says it is delaying the opening of its new casino in Nepal due to difficulty raising the financing needed for the venue’s completion.
Last October, Silver Heritage announced that its in-development Tiger Palace Resort in Bhairahawa on Nepal’s southern border with India would have its soft opening in February 2017. On Wednesday, Silver Heritage filed a notice with the Australian Stock Exchange indicating that the project was “encountering temporary unexpected delays.”
The company said the delays were principally due to “a shortage of liquidity in Nepal Banking System” and unanticipated delays in getting approval to increase the equity ceiling of its Nepal corporate investment vehicle “to allow remittance of capital into Nepal” to fund the new resort’s construction costs.
Silver Heritage said the lack of funds has resulted in “a slowdown in on-site activity” but said work on the project was ongoing. The company offered no revised timeline for the resort’s soft opening, only that it was assessing the impact of the delays on the final project costs, a task it expects to take several weeks. The company promised to update the market about any new developments as soon as practicable.
The Tiger Palace Resort will be Silver Heritage’s second gaming operation in Nepal, joining the Millionaire’s Club in Kathmandu’s Shangri La Hotel & Resort. The company also operates the Phoenix International Club near Hanoi, Vietnam.
Silver Heritage used to manage electronic gaming machines (EGM) at the Dansavanh Nam Ngum Resort and Casino in Laos but assigned its revenue sharing agreement to a third party last October. The company said at the time that the $500k realized from the deal would allow it to focus its resources on finishing the Tiger Palace resort.
Tiger Palace had a development budget of around $37.5m and planned to feature a 2,471-square-meter casino floor with 52 gaming tables and around 200 EGM. The property also promised a 100-room five-star hotel – rising to 400 rooms in later phases – and two luxury villas, as well as a variety of dining options.
Silver Heritage also offered an update on its Q4 and FY16 financial results, saying revenue will likely come in at $16.9m and earnings at $3.3m due to improved trading in Q4. Audited results will be released on February 28.
