Zürich-based multinational investment bank and financial services firm UBS Group AG is taking over its rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse in a $3.25-billion deal, which according to some experts is actually a bailout. Market analysts, however, say that the transaction may not harm the efforts of Nagasaki to get enough financing to fund its integrated casino resort (IR) plans.
As CasinoGamesPro reported in 2022, the Governor of Nagasaki Kengo Oishi, has mentioned Credit Suisse among the financial institutions that could potentially finance the prefecture’s integrated casino resort project. For the time being, Osaka (partnering with MGM Resorts International) and Nagasaki (partnering with Casinos Austria) are the only prefectures in Japan that compete for the federal Government’s approval that would allow them to establish casinos in the country.
Less than a week ago, Mr. Oishi revealed that the prefecture of Nagasaki has gathered information on Credit Suisse’s fate and integrated resort and shared that the issue should not affect the funding plan of the integrated casino resort project in any way.
The Swiss credit institution, which has been operational for 166 years, has become the latest victim of an ongoing financial crisis that has already hit a few US banks and led them to their demise, with several others being on the brink of collapse.
Nagasaki to Proceed with Casino Resort Plans despite Credit Suisse Sudden Collapse
Now, according to market experts, Nagasaki prefecture has options for the provision of capital for the Nagasaki casino project, even with Credit Suisse out of the equation.
In September 2022, the prefecture’s Governor shared that Cantor Fitzgerald and the real estate agency CBRE Group Inc could also be options to provide financing for Nagasaki’s integrated casino resort effort. Apart from that, other lenders and financial institutions could still see an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and get some presence in the newly-legalized casino gambling industry of Japan. For the time being, UBS Group AG has not revealed whether or not it will assess the role Credit Suisse had in the Japanese prefecture’s gambling expansion project.
According to preliminary estimates, an integrated casino resort in Nagasaki could cost between $3 billion and $4 billion, and a large stake in the project could be an attractive asset for some financial institutions. Japan’s reputation in terms of casinos and gambling, however, has been not fully reliable for the time being, which could fend off large contenders off. So far, the country has been known for its multiple bureaucratic delays regarding the integrated casino resort process.
As previously reported, Osaka and Nagasaki are the destinations that are most likely to become home to the first gambling venues in Japan. Unfortunately, it could take years for the proposed IR projects to become a reality.
Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, supports the addition of casino gambling to the legal gambling sector of the country, especially considering the fact that the new form of gambling is expected to boost the tourism sector of Japan, currently the third-largest economy on a global scale. Of course, this does not mean that the licensing process will be quick and easy, and surely does not imply that the Government is ready to issue more than the three casino licenses it has promised.
