Akihabara News (Tokyo) \u2014 The Wakayama Prefectural Assembly has put its foot down, demanding that the Clairvest Neem Ventures-led consortium reveal how it would fund the construction of its proposed US$4.3 billion Integrated Resort (IR) including a casino before allowing the approval process to continue.<\/p>\n
Wakayama Prefecture had previously announced that it would conduct a total of fourteen public hearings\u00a0from November 25\u00a0to December 5, but this plan is now on ice until Clairvest can put some evidence on the table of its financial capability.<\/p>\n
Last week, the Clairvest Group revealed in its latest financial disclosure in Canada that the entire book value (the value of their total assets minus the value of their total liabilities) of the firm had reached about US$711 million. Clearly, Clairvest itself can only front a small fraction of the development funds with its own money.<\/p>\n
Caesars Entertainment, an undoubted giant, is marked to become the Wakayama casino operator, but it has already stated that it will be paying nothing for the IR\u2019s construction.<\/p>\n
Other mooted members of the Wakayama IR consortium, such as William Weidner\u2019s AMSE Resorts Japan and esports entrepreneur Mario Ho, likely have less money to chip in than Clairvest.<\/p>\n
Unless there are additional deep-pocketed consortium members, the project would need to rely mainly on bank financing, and there\u2019s plenty of reason to think that most lenders won\u2019t be jumping at the prospect.<\/p>\n
Still, Clairvest did tell the prefectural assembly that it is \u201cnegotiating with megabanks.\u201d It has also been reported that Project Manager Takeshi Kaji is working hard to bring about three other large Japanese companies into the consortium.<\/p>\n
Brendan Bussmann, partner at Global Market Advisors, told Akihabara News<\/em> last month that \u201cClairvest has a strong track record with the developments they have invested in by making sure they have a solid foundation of financial standing to complete the project. I would be surprised if it was anything less as it pushes forward with its consortium in Wakayama.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if the consortium can somehow scrape together the US$4.3 billion, that would still leave it vulnerable to unexpected construction delays and costs, such as damage from earthquakes or typhoons, or perhaps a future wave of the pandemic.<\/p>\n No one wants to see a half-constructed eyesore in the middle of Marina City with no money left to do anything about it\u2014much like what Saipan is now dealing with in relation to its Imperial Pacific International fiasco.<\/p>\n Recent Integrated Resorts Related Articles<\/strong><\/p>\n Universal Struggles with Pachinko Machine Sales<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Clairvest Profits Exceed US$22.6 Million Last Quarter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Casino Referendum Signature Drive in Wakayama City<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Orix Estimates US$9.5 Billion for Osaka IR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Konami Casino Division Returns to Profits<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Okada Manila Aims for Japan Casino Market<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Kishida Renews Commitment to Build Casino Resorts<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Assembly Questions Wakayama IR Consortium<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Nagasaki Casino Resort Concept Images<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Caesars Joins Wakayama IR Consortium<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The post Doubts Grow Over Wakayama IR Financing<\/a> appeared first on Akihabara News<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Akihabara News (Tokyo) \u2014 The Wakayama Prefectural Assembly has put its foot down, demanding that the Clairvest Neem Ventures-led consortium reveal how it would fund the construction of its proposed US$4.3 billion Integrated Resort (IR) including a casino before allowing … Continue reading
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\nSource: Akihabara News – Doubts Grow Over Wakayama IR Financing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"