Australia-listed operator of Asian casinos Silver Heritage Group Ltd says that an interim injunction and legal proceedings against two of the group’s subsidiaries in Nepal “pose no immediate material commercial or legal impact or risk on the company’s operations” in that country. The company owns and operates casino property Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa on the Indo-Nepalese border.
The Kathmandu Post reported in July that the Rupandehi District Court in Nepal issued a temporary order against two local subsidiaries of Silver Heritage, preventing the group from either selling Tiger Palace Resort (pictured) or developing further the property.
According to the newspaper, the court order was in response to a writ from a local water consumer committee. The latter body was said to claim there had been some construction related to the casino property on four plots of public land.
In a Friday filing, Silver Heritage said it had sought independent advice from its Nepal legal counsel following the formal service of the court documents related with the temporary injunction.
“The scope of the interim injunction granted ‘ex parte’ is limited to the five plots of land … which are not and were never legally registered in the name of the company (or its subsidiaries) but rather as unused government land lying within the boundaries of Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa,” Silver Heritage told the Australian Securities Exchange.
“As such, the injunction does not restrict the sale or construction on any plots legally owned by the company through its subsidiaries,” stated the company, adding that it intended “to defend these proceedings”.
Silver Heritage said on July 31 that it had received a US$33.9 million offer to buy its Nepal casino “operations”. Aside from Tiger Palace Resort, the group also manages gaming at the Millionaire’s Club and Casino, in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
In Friday’s filing, the company said that the local communities that surround Tiger Palace Resort “have confirmed their strong ongoing support” for the company and its operations at the casino resort.
