Tokyo High Court Rejects Okada Appeal ASIA & OCEANIA
Universal Entertainment founder Kazuo Okada has had his appeal against alleged fraud kicked out by the Tokyo High Court
Te fraud charges include a HK$135m loan from Universal subsidiary Tiger Resort Asia Limited (TRA) to a third party in 2015, arranged by Okada
JAPAN CASINO OPERATIONS
AUSTRALIA – Ratings agency Fitch believes that Australian operator Crown Resorts will be able to weather a slow start to business at its AU$2.2bn Crown Sydney VIP casino in Barangaroo, due to open in December 2020.
“Fitch believes that Crown showed its commitment to maintaining its balance-sheet strength by the skipping a final dividend, despite its fixed dividend policy, and the securing of over AU$1 billion in additional debt facilities at the beginning of the pandemic to manage through the disruptions and to meet its obligations, including the completion of Crown Sydney,” it said.
“Crown’s ability to absorb the effects of the shutdowns, continue funding the construction of its Crown Sydney property, and return its leverage to within the guidelines for its rating within one year benefitted from the conservative financial profile it maintained since it exited its international businesses. This headroom will also allow Crown to absorb the expected slower start at its Sydney premium casino as VIP demand remains subdued given restrictions on international travel and the recession in Australia over the next couple of years.”
CAMBODIA – Donaco International has confirmed the limited reopening of DNA Star Vegas in Poipet, Cambodia. The casino has been shut since the start of April. Permission to reopen was given on July 3 pending individual approvals from the Ministry of Health, but Donaco has delayed reopening due to the fact that most of its business comes from Thailand and the border is still closed.
The operator said: “DNA Star Vegas is set to operate on a limited scale for patrons located in Cambodia, and the reopening will allow the Company to test its operational systems whilst ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff and visitors. Donaco does not expect any material additional expenses to be incurred following the limited reopening of the casino as the border with Thailand, where most of the casino’s patrons originated, remains closed.”
PHILIPPINES – Okada Manila will be partially operational with up to 30 per cent of permitted slot machines and casino tables installed to be operated alongside some resort related facilities such as restaurants and hotels. The announcement follows the temporary suspension of gaming business order by PAGCOR on March 15 being partially lifted. Universal Entertainment has confirmed that action will be taken to prevent the spread of infection including disinfection and cleaning according to the modes of operation of each facility. Okada Manila has not yet determined its consolidated financial forecast for the fiscal year and will announce further details in due course.
P30 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
Universal Entertainment Founder and former owner Kazuo Okada has had his appeal against alleged fraud he committed whilst in the hot seat of his former company kicked out by the Tokyo High Court.
Te High Court lent its support to a decision made by the Tokyo District Court earlier this year demanding he pay damages of JPY21.3m(US$193,000) for three alleged acts of fraud against the company. Universal filed the suit three years ago following an internal investigation that concluded Mr. Okada had committed fraud. Te fraud charges included a HK$135m loan from Universal subsidiary Tiger Resort Asia Limited (TRA) to a third party in 2015, arranged by Okada, to obtain funds for his personal use, an unauthorised check for HK$16m from Tiger Resort Asia; and changing the business that was buying land for an integrated resort in Korea from TRA subsidiary UE Korea to his own wholly-owned company, Okada Holdings Korea Co Ltd, for his personal gain.
Universal said: "A judgment dismissing the appeal of Mr. Kazuo Okada, former Director of the company, was recently issued by the Tokyo
Domestic tourism driving return to form for Genting in Malaysia
Malaysia
Nomura research analysts believe Genting Malaysia will see a bounce back in its EBITDA from the fourth quarter of 2020, thanks to a recovery in domestic tourism boosting visitation at its hilltop Malaysian casino Resorts World Genting.
It highlights that Resorts World Genting is showing strong signs of recovery already with up to 40,000 visitors per day and with half of its hotel rooms gaining 90 per cent average occupancy since reopening in June.
Nomura said: “We expect Resorts World Genting to stage a gradual recovery over the coming quarters, with a sharp inflection come FY22 with the
High Court on the grounds that the claims of Mr. Okada were objectively contrary to the facts and as such inadmissible while also fully recognising the claims of the Company as the appellee. Mr. Okada had contested and appealed a judgement rendered by the Tokyo District Court on February 13, 2020 that accepted all of the claims of the Company as the plaintiff, which had filed a damage suit against Mr. Okada."
“As a result of the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Committee established by the company, it became clear that Mr. Okada committed the following three fraudulent acts. In response to these facts coming to light, the company had filed a damage suit with the Tokyo District Court claiming compensation against Mr. Okada for part of damages suffered by the company due to his negligence of duty as a Director of the company. In this case, the Tokyo District Court, acknowledging that the Fraudulent Acts were conducted under the order of Mr. Okada, also acknowledged that Mr. Okada breached both his duty of care of a good manager and his fiduciary duty of loyalty as a Director of the company, and accepted all claims of the company,” it added.
opening of the theme park (official timeline is mid-2021, but prone to slippages).
Te good footfalls seen at the Malaysian casino since reopening in June due to low dependence on a foreign clientele, should result in a turnaround in EBITDA from the Q4’20 results season.”
While international inbound traffic is essentially negligible, domestic tourism seems to be filling the void, as Malaysians are vacationing within the country,” it added.
“A study of Google Search Trends in Malaysia shows that while airline search trends are still below pre-COVID-19 levels, searches for terms relevant for local tourism within Malaysia such as ‘hotel bookings’ and ‘Genting’ are almost back to pre-COVID-19 levels, whereas search trends for COVID -19 have declined, suggesting fading fear factor.”
Australia
Crown Resorts has suspended all activity with junket operators until June 30 2021 while it undertakes a comprehensive review of its processes related to junket operators. Te move follows the September 2020 public hearing of the inquiry established by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, which is ongoing. Crown also said that a recruitment process has commenced for the newly created role of Head of Compliance and Financial Crimes which will report directly to the Board.
When giving evidence at the hearing, Crown’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Ken Barton confirmed that senior management had been unaware of large cash deposits and transfers being made in junket rooms located within its own casino at Crown Melbourne.
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