A subsidiary of Melco International Development named MelcoLot has decided to abort the construction of a casino in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, in Eastern Europe. The decision came after the company controlled by Lawrence Ho failed to reach an agreement with the Dhabi Group, which is controlled by Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, which was supposed to lease the casino project site. “Although every effort has been made to negotiate with Dhabi on the lease terms, the parties are unable to reach an agreement on terms satisfactory to MelcoLot”, the company explained Wednesday in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The joint announcement was the first filing by MelcoLot since the terms of the investment were announced in November 2014. According to the filing, through a company named Express Wealth created for the development of this project, MelcoLot would control 42.7 per cent of the casino, while Taiwanese investors Firich, Rich Development and Syncmold would control 31.62 per cent, 15.35 per cent and 8.33 per cent, respectively. The remaining 2 per cent would be held by Georgian investor Oz. However, one of the conditions for the development to go ahead was MelcoLot reaching an agreement with Dhabi Group Georgia for the lease of the casino project site, located in Georgia’s capital. Dhabi Group Georgia is a subsidiary of Dhabi Group, which is controlled by Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, who is also the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Social Development of the United Arab Emirates. Interest in developing market Business Daily contacted MelcoLot for an explanation of the incapacity of the two parties to reach a satisfactory agreement but no reply was received by the time the story went to press. At the time of the first announcement of the Georgia casino scheme, MelcoLot, which is mainly focused on Chinese lottery solutions on the Mainland, justified the investment with the opportunity ‘to expand its business interests into the gaming and casino sector in the developing market of Georgia’. Although withdrawing from this plan, ‘the Melco Group will continue to explore with Firich appropriate opportunities for future commercial co-operation’, the filing issued yesterday added. In addition to this project, the Taiwanse Firich Enterprises is one of Melco’s partners in the Russian casino project named Tigre de Cristal, located in the Russian city of Vladivostok.
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