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Summary
- Special Committee concerned over Wakayama IR proposal
- Chief concerns rest over the proof of finances
- Wakayama to submit plans for approval before April 28,2022.
A special committee of Wakayama’s prefectural assembly expressed concern this week over a lack of clarity on the fundraising and planning for an integrated resort (IR) casino project in their prefecture.
It also demanded that the prefectural government should be sure about the funding of the proposed integrated resort in the next meeting.
Special Committee Permits Public Consultation on Project
The committee released its statement after its third meeting, which had gone on for almost seven hours. Despite the unclear details of the plan, the committee agreed to permit the Wakayama government to open the integrated resort (IR) idea to public opinion. Before this, an assembly member had pressed the government not to initiate public consultation on the matter until the details on project financing were clear. At that time, the budget for the IR project was estimated at JPY470 billion.
The committee has now agreed to the public consultation phase despite earlier reservations. The prefectural government of Wakayama has lain due emphasis on the window available to submit the final scheme for the IR to the national government before April 28,2022. The special committee was responsible for perusing the draft of the local District Development Plan (DDP) for the complex.
Wakayama’s private-sector partner for the IR scheme, Clairvest Neem Ventures KK is heading the proposal. Japan’s casino liberalization framework requires local prefectures to ally with a private-sector entity to develop a plan for a casino. According to the framework, three Japanese casino facilities will be permitted to operate in the country.
Clairvest and the prefectural government have referred to confidence letters and letters of intent to furnish information about the project. Sources say that some details on the fundraising aspect of the scheme were submitted to the committee for perusal before the meeting held on 07 Feb. However, the information was deemed insufficient by the special committee. The body required investors and banks to furnish commitment letters as evidence to confirm their financial involvement in the IR project.
More Financial Proof Needed
According to news sources, Clairvest Neem Ventures, Canada-based Clairvest Group Inc., American casino operator Caesars Entertainment Inc. and some Japanese companies are collectively raising equity for the proposal. A statement made in September 2021 had mentioned that Caesar’s participation in Wakayama’s IR project would be without any capital commitment.
The sources said that JPY330 billion would be sourced from bank loans, citing the involvement of Credit Suisse and other banks. Neither the Japanese firms nor the other banks were identified in the documents turned in before the committee.
