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Wakayama Picks Clairvest as Genting Singapore and Melco Advance in Yokohama
By Jeff Osienya Jun 02, 2021 IndustryClairvest Neem Ventures wins Wakayama's RFP race after Suncity's withdrawal despite falling behind the latter in the scoresheet. In Yokohama, Genting Singapore and Melco Resorts have received a thumbs up to proceed in the next stage of the RFP race.Despite successive delay setbacks resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic, Japan is making significant strides towards bringing its integrated resort casinos (IR) project to life. Several bidders to IR construction tickets have also dropped out of the race, but Japan is still going strong. The freshly rebranded Sands Corp was among the first to pull out of the IR race last year, and the Galaxy Entertainment Group has been the most recent company to announce its withdrawal.
Wakayama and Yokohama, two of the cities that are potentially going to be selected to host the planned IRs, have now made significant headway towards their selection process for partner casino operators.
Wakayama Confirms Clairvest Neem Ventures as its IR Torchbearer
Clairvest Neem Ventures Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Toronto-based private equity firm Clairvest Group Inc, has been chosen as the priority candidate for the Wakayama Marina City IR. Wakayama's Prefecture made the announcement today, three weeks after Suncity Group, the other remaining contender, pulled out of the race on May 12th.
After Suncity's withdrawal, Wakayama was left with no choice but to pick the last contender standing rather than relaunch the Request for Proposal (RFP) process or give up the IR bid entirely. Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka recently pointed out the dilemma after putting all his best efforts to drum up support for potential investors. He said:
Quote"It is not ideal that there is only one company and we just choose them or don't. Not making a selection means giving up on the idea of IR for a few years. I have been promoting it for a long time. There are few investment projects of this size for employment and income. I think we should definitely take this chance for the future of Wakayama."
When Suncity announced that it was going to bow out of the Wakayama IR bid mid-last month, Alvin Chau, the Group CEO, said in a press statement:
Quote"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the uncertain situation surrounding a huge numbers of companies around the world may continue for a long time, and the IR project procedure in Japan also is expected to take much longer. Therefore, we have considered the risks to our business and the fact that things are still uncertain and have decided to withdraw."
Interestingly, according to the Wakayama Prefecture, Suncity had beaten Clairvest Neem Ventures on the RFP scorecard. So, had the Suncity Group not retreated, the casino operator company would likely have been picked as the priority candidate.
Genting Singapore and Melco Resorts & Entertainment Pass Yokohama's RFP Test
On Monday, Yokohama, on its part, announced that only two Genting Singapore and Melco Resorts & Entertainment had passed its RFP qualification screening process to develop an IR. The third contestant, Shotoku Corp, did not meet Yokohama's standards.
The news was divulged on the website of Yokohama city, indicating that Genting Singapore has joined forces with Japan-based Kajima Corporation and Sega Sammy Holdings Incorporated. Melco Resorts & Entertainment, on the other hand, has teamed up with Taisei Corporation, a local civil engineering and construction company.
It's worth pointing out that Sega Sammy, one of Japan's largest manufacturers of pachinko games, was also part of the Yokohama IR race but decided to back out at the last minute. The pachinko manufacturer disclosed that it quit the race after having concerns about its capacity to win the IR bid and deliver.
Additionally, Sega Sammy also revealed that its retreat was more strategic for its business. Per the company's statement, it was better suited to be a minority stake partner of a gaming property in Yokohama – which ended up being Genting Singapore.
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