Silver Heritage’s Nepal Border Struggle Continues

• Asian casino operator Silver Heritage Group Limited has been handed a second ex parte injunction
• The legal proceeding is aimed against two of the subsidiaries of the group
• Kathmandu Post reports temporary order from an Indian court, banning the company from selling or developing their property

Back in July the Rupandehi District Court issued a temporary order to prevent the Australian-listed casino operator from selling its Tiger Palace Resort. The dispute concerns territorial disagreements.

The Tiger Palace Resort

Now, the said court has issued a new, second, interim ex parte injunction against two of the group’s subsidiaries. In a Tuesday filing to the Australian Securities Exchange, the group reported that “The Company is currently considering legal advice on the effect and consequences of the injunction and will keep the market fully informed of any further developments or action taken in this regard.”

For now, the company hasn’t revealed any further details regarding the second injunction.

The first interim injunction, which came earlier in August, was dismissed as posing no immediate threat to any of the material, commercial or legal aspects of the company’s operation in Nepal. Now, though, it seems as if the problem is growing perhaps to a larger degree, than expected.

According tothe Kathmandu Post, the origins of the dispute are territorial in nature. The temporary court order – mentioned in the beginning of the article – came in response to an Indian water consumer committee, which claimed that some of the construction of the Tiger Palace Resort occurred on four plots of public land.

Silver Heritage’s Future in Nepal

This appears to put the company in a troublesome situation, as just at the end of last month, the group reported that they had received a $33.9 million offer for the complete acquisition of their operations in Nepal. These would include a casino in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, as well as gaming operations at the Millionaire’s Club.

The buy-out offer came from an individual person named Indra Bahadur Thapa and brought about serious considerations for Silver Heritage, especially after they had lost their key gaming revenue operation at the Phoenix International Club near Hanoi, Vietnam. This unfortunate resolve came to pass due to the fact that the general manager of the Phoenix Club reported that local authorities no longer allow the operation of table games.

In light of recent events Silver Heritage reported that they are yet to receive the deposit, amounting to $3 million US dollars, and that they had extended the payment date up to September 10 this year.

A Change in Management

Just recently Silver Heritage reported that their CFO, Ben Watiwat, will be stepping down from his position in the beginning of September and their former chief financial officer, Martin Wright, would be rejoining them on a consultancy basis in the interim of the unfolding of these recent complications.

Other than that, one Amy Bunnel was named to become country head in Nepal, effective from yesterday – August 26^th. She had occupied the role of general manager of the corporate section of Silver Heritage and has, according to Tuesday’s filing from the company, contributed greatly to the operation of their Nepal operations.