A senior executive of Orix Corp, the Japanese partner of MGM Resorts International in a proposed Osaka integrated resort (IR), said both companies will hold a 40 percent stake in the development, with a collection of companies controlling the other 20 percent.
GGRAsia reported that Hitomaro Yano, executive officer at Orix, also said his firm’s initial investment in the JPY1.08 trillion (US$9.5 billion) plan would be about JPY200 billion, i.e., or US$1.76 billion in cash.
According to Bloomberg News, the smaller investors include France’s VINCI Airports, which has a management contract for Kansai International; Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc.; Kintetsu Group Holdings Co. Ltd.; Panasonic Corp.; and other companies in the Kansai region.
If the partners are approved by the central government, they anticipate the IR will open sometime between 2028 and 2030. The official application period began on October 1, and applicants must submit their final plans by next April. Up to three IRs will be permitted in the first phase of the new industry. Currently, only three communities are in the running to host a large-scale IR: Osaka, Nagasaki and Wakayama.
Orix and MGM were selected by Osaka prefecture and city in September. They plan to develop the multibillion-dollar IR on Yumeshima Island near the mouth of the Yodo River. The island will host the 2025 World Expo.
Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and president of MGM Resorts International, told investors in August that the U.S. company is prepared for an initial investment of US$2.5 billion to be funded over the course of three years from 2024, reported Inside Asian Gaming.
“If we call the project US$10 billion, although we think it will be a little lower, with 55/45 debt to equity, that means for us it’s a US$2 billion to US$2.5 billion check, probably split between 2024, 2025 and 2026.
“We are now working with Orix and the city, to submit an area development plan to the central government in the coming months, and are hopeful and confident that we will be awarded a license next year,” Hornbuckle said.
