After last week saw the second senior executive resignation at Silver Heritage Group Limited (SVH:ASE), the Asian casino operator has now announced it has appointed Australian business mogul, James Spenceley (pictured), as its new non-executive chairman and director.
Earlier in the month, David Green abruptly resigned as the company’s Chairman and non-executive director, replaced on an interim basis by independent director, Matthew Hunter. However, last week the company responsible for the Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa integrated casino resort in Nepal announced that Richard Barker resigned in a similar sudden fashion as a non-executive director.
Inside Asian Gaming reports that Silver Heritage group Limited in a Tuesday filing to the Australian Securities Exchange said that Spenceley, the founder of Vocus Communications, the fourth largest telecommunications firm in Australia and current Chairman for Airtasker, a Sydney-based online job sharing platform, will also reportedly chair the company’s People and Culture Committee while Hunter will Chair the Audit and Risk Committee.
The company which operates and manages casinos in Nepal and Vietnam, also reportedly revealed that Hunter, Spenceley and Robert Benussi, its three independent executive directors, have moreover agreed that through the year’s end they will waive 50% of their fees in a move that will save the company AU$375,000, according to Inside Asia Gaming. At the end of 2018, the agreement will reportedly be reassessed.
Managing Director and CEO for Silver Heritage Group Limited, Mike Bolsover, said that Spenceley is a “great addition” to its board and that after multiple visits to both Nepal and to Tiger Palace since its opening last year, “hits the ground running.” Bolsover added, “The non-executive Directors’ agreement to waive 50% of their fees and the reduction from four to three Australian-based board members means we are now streamlined and cost-effective as we enter a new phase of growth,” as reported by the news outlet.
According to Inside Asian Gaming citing an interview with the Australian Financial Review after a recent trip to Tiger Palace Resort, Spenceley, who is a current investor and no stranger to the Hong Kong-headquartered company, said, “They’re basically trying to create a Macau for India. Now Indians love to gamble, gambling is illegal in India, the only place you can gamble is in Goa which is away from all the population and it’s on riverboats, which you have to get to on ‘tinnies’ so it’s pretty terrible.”
Established in 2003, Silver Heritage Group Limited additionally operates The Millionaire’s Club and Casino inside Kathmandu’s Shangri La Hotel and Resort as well as the Phoenix International Club near Hanoi.