Australia-listed boutique casino operator Silver Heritage Group Ltd. today announced that it has completed the purchase of a portion of land in Jhapa, East Nepal where it plans to build a casino resort.
In a filing to the the Australian Securities Exchange, the company said that it has paid the amount of NPR361.3 million (approximately US$3.2 million), including taxes and fees, for 74,500 square meters of land. Silver Heritage went on to say that the site will be used as a location for what will be known as Tiger Palace Resort Jhapa.
The company finally managed to secure the portion of land after a previous unsuccessful attempt. Silver Heritage first announced its plan to buy the plot back in July 2016 in its IPO Prospectus. It said that it had reached an agreement to purchase 115,134 square meters of land in Jhapa for the total amount of NRP445.9 million (approximately US$4 million).
It also became known that the company had paid two deposits to secure the land, one in March 2015 that totaled NRP105.9 million (US$946,000) and the other in August 2016, totaling NRP215.4 million (US$1.9 million). That second deposit was paid following Silver Heritage’s IPO.
The company’s land acquisition agreement was slated to expire on March 31, 2018. Silver Heritage pointed out in today’s filing that it had no financial ability to fund the remaining portion of the purchase price and that the two deposits were forfeited.
Nepal Expansion
As mentioned earlier, Silver Heritage plans to use the land to develop another boutique casino resort in Nepal. The property will target affluent customers from neighboring India, according to previous comments made by the company. Jhapa is located on Nepal’s border with two Indian states – Bihar and Sikkim, and not far way from India’s border with Bangladesh.
Silver Heritage currently manages two gaming properties in Nepal – the Millionaire’s Club at Shangri La Hotel & Resort in Kathmandu and Tiger Palace Resort in Bhairahawa, South Nepal. The latter property was launched in the third quarter of 2017, while its casino gaming portion became operational last December after finally obtaining the necessary license by the Nepal Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation. That casino resort, too, has been targeting Indian customers since the commencement of its operations. It cost its developers approximately US$52 million.
Earlier this year, Silver Heritage found itself embroiled in a legal battle with its partner in the Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa project. The company brought a former consultant to the project, who owned a 10% stake in it, to court, arguing that he had tried to bring Silver Heritage to disrepute in Nepal for reasons unknown and through a series of calculated actions. The two parties eventually settled off-court, with the company’s former Nepalese partner selling his 10% to Silver Heritage.
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