Its long-term future may be clouded following a recent takeover of its parent company, Australian-listed Silver Heritage Group, by a Philippines conglomerate but Nepal’s Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa took a step towards recovery this week as it opened its hotel to guests for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shuttered since 23 March 2020, Tiger Palace this week welcomed its first guests in almost a year with CEO Dhananjay Regmi and staff of the Nepal Tourism Board stopping by to celebrate the occasion. Casinos across Nepal remain closed although IAG understands an announcement from the Ministry of Finance on this is expected imminently.
Silver Heritage Group was placed into voluntary administration last May by its main lender, OCP Asia, after the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of its two Nepal casinos – Tiger Palace Resort and The Millionaire’s Club in Kathmandu – ended any chance the company had of finding new options to generate liquidity.
The parent was subsequently taken over by Philippines-based HatchAsia Inc.
However, Silver Heritage Group’s Nepal-based subsidiary, Silver Heritage Ltd, continues to operate all Nepal assets which remain under the control of receivers