Cyprus casino contenders down to one

Just one contender is left in the bid for a casino license in Cyprus, with "NagaCorp Ltd,” one of just two remaining interested parties, on Wednesday announcing its steering committee for the purpose would not be participating in the next stage of the bid.

With several big names quitting the competition for various reasons only "Naga” and "Melco-Hard Rock Resort Cyprus Consortium” had been left, with the deadline for the submission of their final proposal being October 5.

The "Melco” consortium is proposing that their casino be developed in land next to the Limassol Mall, while "Naga” had proposed that their casino is built along the Larnaca-Dhekelia road.

The Melco-Hard Rock Resort Cyprus Consortium is comprised of the companies Melco International Development, Hard Rock International, and the Cypriot company Cyprus Phasouri, part of the CNS Group, which is active in the field of real estate, telecoms, dairy, agriculture, exports and mining. Melco International Development Ltd, which was founded in 1910 and was made part of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1927 is a company with a long history.

Today, Melco is a global investor in the entertainment sector, active in China, the Philippines, Cambodia and Russia. Through the companies Melco Crown Entertainment, Melco Crown Philippines and Summit Ascent, the company owns and operates facilities under the trade names "City of Dreams”, "Studio City”, "Altira” and "Tigre de Cristal”. In total, these companies own 4,500 hotel rooms, and employ more than 20,000 workers, with $4.8 billion in revenue in 2014. In 2015, the companies had won eight Forbes 5-Star awards.