GGRAsia – Oshidori takes new swipe at Nagasaki casino process

Oshidori takes new swipe at Nagasaki casino process

Aug 31, 2021 Newsdesk Japan, Latest News, Top of the deck

Hong Kong-listed investment group Oshidori International Holdings Ltd said in its first-half results filed on Monday that its experience of bidding as a partner for a casino resort in Japan’s Nagasaki prefecture had led it to “question whether there have been serious ethical irregularities” in the process.

It added: “The group was shocked by the restrictive and unreasonable rules and measures imposed by Nagasaki prefecture and incidents that made the group question whether there have been serious ethical irregularities.”

Oshidori’s effort had been via Oshidori International Development GK, with its request-for-proposal (RFP) submission being one of three shortlisted; although its bid was not selected after the second of two rounds of further evaluation.

Nagasaki prefecture told GGRAsia in a recent emailed statement in response to our enquiry, that the selection process for a private-sector partner on an integrated resort (IR), as such large-scale casino complexes are known in Japan, had been conducted fairly.

On Monday, Nagasaki said it had signed what it termed a “master agreement” with Casinos Austria International Japan Inc for the latter to develop and operate an IR in the prefecture.

The Oshidori parent noted in its Monday first-half results filing regarding its Nagasaki effort: “The company withdrew from participation in the RFP process for the IR project in early August 2021 due to the restrictive and unreasonable rules and measures constantly imposed by Nagasaki prefecture, which seemed to be unfair,” and which in the group’s view, made it “impossible for the company to conduct business in a prudent and efficient manner”.

The Oshidori group had planned to partner for a Nagasaki casino venture with United States-based casino operator Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment.

Oshidori observed in its interim results, regarding its participation in the Nagasaki RFP process: “Following such an experience, the management has become cautious towards foreign investments.”