GGRAsia – Nagasaki says Credit Suisse woes not to impact IR plan

Nagasaki says Credit Suisse woes not to impact IR plan

Mar 20, 2023 Newsdesk Japan, Latest News, Top of the deck

Credit Suisse Group AG, described last year by Nagasaki governor Kengo Oishi as one of several potential “financial arrangers” for a proposed casino resort project within that Japanese prefecture (pictured), is to be acquired by UBS Group AG in a CHF3-billion (US$3.25-billion) deal, described in media reports on Monday as an emergency rescue brokered by the Swiss government.

On Friday, Mr Oishi had told local media in a regular briefing that his local authority took the view that – as of that moment – the casino resort “funding plan should not be affected by the issue,” of Credit Suisse.

Mr Oishi had also stated on Friday “the prefecture has gathered information on the issue,” through the would-be promoters of the integrated resort (IR), namely “Casinos Austria International Japan, Kyushu Resorts Japan and advisors”.

In September comments, the Nagasaki governor had mentioned United States-based financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, and commercial real estate service and investment firm CBRE Group – as well as Credit Suisse – as having interest in being the financial arrangers for a local tilt at hosting an integrated resort with a casino. The project has been earmarked at a site of the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo city.

A figure of JPY438.3 billion (US$3.34 billion at current exchange rates) has been mentioned for the fundraising for the Nagasaki scheme. The financial institutions might have involvement with “80 percent of the equity part” of the funding, as well as organising a loan portion of the capital, Mr Oishi had said in his September remarks.

Nagasaki had in April last year submitted an IR District Development Plan to the national government regarding its casino tilt. Its proposal – as well as another by the metropolis of Osaka with MGM Resorts International as an operating partner, and submitted at the same time – remains in the hands of the national authorities.

According to information collated by GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent, Nagasaki has not clarified further the specifics of any funding for a Nagasaki IR.