Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp said Tuesday that it does not expect the passing of its founder, controlling shareholder and Group CEO, Dr Chen Lip Keong, late last week to impact recent loans and subscription agreements he had provided the company.
In a filing, the parent company of Cambodian integrated resort NagaWorld in Phnom Penh addressed concerns over a US$80 million shareholders’ loan provided by Dr Chen in October, which is seen as a key to NagaCorp being able to refinance outstanding notes due 2024.
The loan was officially provided to NagaCorp by a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Sakai Trustee – a family trust established by Dr Chen for the purposes of succession planning and which holds a 69.26% share of the company.
NagaCorp said Tuesday that, to the best of its knowledge, the passing away of Dr Chen will not have any material impact on the loan agreement, and the Board is not aware of any circumstance that will or could prevent the Loan Agreement from remaining in full force and effective.
The company issued a similar statement in regard to a subscription agreement entered into between the Company and ChenLipKeong Fund Limited in 2019 by which another entity under The Sakai Trustee agreed to subscribe for 1,142,378,575 Settlement Shares in order to help fund development of the US$3.5 billion Naga 3 project. While completion of Naga3 has been postponed until 2029, NagaCorp said it does not expect Dr Chen’s passing to have a material impact on the Subscription Agreement.
Nor does it expect any potential changes to the group’s senior management team, other than for the appointment of one of Dr Chen’s sons, Chen Yiy Fon as new Group CEO.
“The current management team continues to receive the full support of the Board,” it said. “The senior management under the leadership of Mr Chen Yiy Fon will continue to lead the Company to success by adhering to the business strategies laid down by the Board.”
Dr Chen passed away last Friday following a long illness.
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