Malaysian Billionaire’s Casino Company Halts Russian Project ‘Indefinitely’

NagaCorp, a Hong Kong-listed company controlled by Malaysia’s Chen Lip Keong, has pulled the plug on a partly built casino and resort project in Vladivostok, Russia–at least for now.

The company, which operates two casinos in Cambodia, said in a statement late last week that it is suspending work indefinitely on the planned Primorsky Entertainment Resort City project “until the circumstance is clearer.”

The statement, from corporate secretary Lam Yi Lin, made no mention of developments in Russia, which has been hit by economic sanctions by many countries after it invaded Ukraine.

Nagacorp’s statement said the company was using the force majeure clause set out in its investment agreement and suspends all operations.

In 2013, Nagacorp said it had agreed to invest a minimum of $350 million to build the project that is nestled on an area having views of the sea, an inland lake and hills. As of December 2021, the company had topped off the project’s hotel building and finished the casino podium up to the second floor. Earlier, the company also forecast that the project would commence operation by 2022.

Nagacorp, suffering due to restrictions on its operations in Cambodia, last year reported a net loss of $147 million. In February, a note by Morgan Stanley said delays in the company’s Naga 3 project in Cambodia and the one in Russia would dampen Nagacorp’s recovery.

Chen founded Nagacorp 27 years ago. The company won a casino license in Phnom Penh that allows it to operate there until 2065, and has a monopoly in the country until 2035. Its NagaWorld is the largest casino resort in Indochina. Nearby Naga2 opened in November 2017.

Chen was rank No. 9 on the list of Malaysia’s 50 Richest last year, with a net worth of $3.4 billion.