Asian casino operator Donaco International Limited has announced the signing of an agreement that has seen its main lender suspend the collection of a $5 million principal payment until the end of the year.

The Sydney-listed firm used an official filing to detail that the obligation with Mega International Commercial Bank Company Limited was to have been satisfied earlier today but has now been deferred for just over six months so as to help it better weather a recent downturn in business triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Additional augmentation:

Responsible for Cambodia’s Star Vegas Resort and Club as well as the gambling-friendly Aristo International Hotel in northern Vietnam, Donaco International Limited revealed that the revised arrangement also includes year-end waivers on all of its remaining associated loan covenants alongside the suspension of a stipulation that had required it to hold aggregate cash and equivalents worth at least $13.72 million.

Strings attached:

In return for the added time and Donaco International Limited explained that the Taipei-headquartered financial institution has now obliged it to utilize any capital that may be injected into its business before the end of the year to assist in settling the outstanding $5 million principal payment.

Read the filing (pdf) from Donaco International Limited…

“We welcome this support from Mega International Commercial Bank Company Limited and extend thanks for the consideration given in supporting our company as it continues to be impacted by coronavirus-related travel restrictions and subsequent reduced patronage at the Star Vegas Resort and Club and Aristo International Hotel.”

Coronavirus closures:

Inside Asian Gaming used its own report into this new financial understanding to specify that Donaco International Limited was forced to shutter its flagship Star Vegas Resort and Club from March 30 as the number of Cambodians infected with the potentially life-threatening coronavirus strain hit 107. The source stated that this 385-room facility remains closed although its sister Aristo International Hotel, which lies less than a mile from Vietnam’s border with China, began ‘limited operations’ from May 13 after being temporarily shut from the first day of April.

Donaco International Limited’s filing read…

“As previously disclosed, we continue to consider liquidity measures and sources of a capital injection to guarantee the business remains in a sustainable and dynamic position during this period of global uncertainty.”