Asia

Yokohama to Establish Committee for IR Operator Selection

Published

2 months ago

February 11, 2020

Niji Narayan

Yokohama to Establish Committee for IR Operator Selection

Photo Source: lonelyplanet.com

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Yokohama city has revealed that it will establish a selection committee based on city ordinances for selecting a private operator responsible for the IR project.

The government’s IR Basic Policy draft states, “It is necessary to establish appropriate selection systems, such as a third party committee, to ensure fair scrutiny.”

The city intends to establish a committee to strictly implement this policy. There will be no more than seven committee members and they will be experts in tourism and MICE, regional economy, gambling dependence, urban planning and disaster prevention.

The future workflow will see the selection committee examining the business plans proposed by IR operator candidates as part of the city’s public offering. It is expected that an operator will be selected and reported to Mayor Hayashi in the latter half of 2020. Upon receiving the request, Mayor Hayashi will confirm the IR operator, and the city and operator will jointly draft an area improvement plan to apply for approval from the city council by July 2021 through a resolution of the council.

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Asia

Sands China Obtains Exemptions on Credit Facility

Published

1 hour ago

March 31, 2020

Niji Narayan

Sands China Obtains Exemptions on Credit Facility

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Sands China Ltd, the Macau subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands, has made changes to the terms of a US$ 2.0 billion loan facility that it owns.

The revolving unsecured credit facility was approved by Sands China in November 2018 and it is valid until July 31, 2023. The facility involves a host of banks and has Bank of China Ltd, Macau Branch, as the lenders’ representative.

The revised terms allow for the agent and borrowers to “waive any default that may arise as a result of any breach of the requirements” even in the restated form.

The other changes are the following: the borrowers waiving Sands China’s conditions to ensure that its combined leverage ratio on the last day of any quarter does not exceed 4 to 1; and the combined interest coverage ratio on the last day of any quarter is greater than 2.5 to 1.

The lenders also decided to “extend the period of time during which the company may supply the [lenders’] agent with its audited consolidated financial statements for the financial year ended on December 31, 2019; to April 30, 2020;” with a similar loosening of the deadline for disclosing the results of the 2020 financial year – namely to April 30, 2021.

Asia

Cambodian PM Orders Shut Down of Casinos

Published

2 hours ago

March 31, 2020

Niji Narayan

Cambodian PM Orders Shut Down of Casinos

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered that all casinos in the country should be shut down as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus.

Under measures introduced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to combat the spread of COVID-19, all casinos in the country have to close its operations from 11.59 pm on Wednesday 1 April until further notice with the government to “take action in accordance with the law in force accordingly” against any operators that fail to comply.

Asia

Osaka Extends Casino RFP Deadline

Published

2 hours ago

March 31, 2020

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The Government of Osaka prefecture has extended the casino RFP deadline by three months in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Osaka Government announced last week that it will allow three more months as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. The government is still hopeful of realizing its 2026 goal for starting an IR, but the present health scenario is likely to force further delays.

Along with the delay in RFP, the decision on choosing a private-sector partner to participate in the project will also be pushed back.