Christmas Island to loose major earner<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The owner of Christmas Island Resort has
\nappealed to the Supreme Court in Western Australia to appoint any
\nparty except Casino Austria to manage the resort in order to save
\nthe property as well as hundreds of its employees.<\/p>\n
A director of Christmas Island Resort PTY Ltd., the private
\nfirm which owns the resort, Herman Gani, said yesterday that his
\nparty was involved in a dispute with Casino Austria
\nInternational, the publicly-listed firm which has been operating
\nthe resort since 1995.<\/p>\n
\"We understand if we are not allowed to manage the resort
\nourselves, but please assign some other party,\" said Gani, adding
\nthat Casino Austria is also involved in a dispute with a casino
\nowner in Cairns.<\/p>\n
He said that there have been management problems since
\nChristmas Island Resort was opened in 1993.<\/p>\n
\"Just a year after Christmas Island Resort opened the
\nmanagement caused the resort to suffer losses,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"By November last year we suffered losses of A$28 million
\n(US$21.5 million). We expect to encounter losses of about A$2
\nmillion per month and if the situation is unchanged, we won't be
\nstanding by the end of this year.\"<\/p>\n
According to Gani, Christmas Island, a small island in the
\nIndian Ocean, could lose a major foreign exchange earner if the
\ndispute is not settled immediately. The resort has become the
\nbiggest economic activity on the island, which boasts 2,100
\nresidents and more than 200 million crabs.<\/p>\n
\"In addition to mismanagement we understand that the
\nmaintenance is also very poor. We are not blaming Casino Austria,
\nbut some of the company's executives are less capable of managing
\nthe resort,\" Gani said<\/p>\n
He said that based on a contract signed in 1993, Casino
\nAustria would operate Christmas Island Resort until 1998.<\/p>\n
The 150-room resort is owned by Indonesian businessman Robby
\nSumampow and Australian businessman Frank Woodmore.<\/p>\n
\"We proposed terminating the contract in 1995,\" said Gani.
\n\"But Casino Austria will continue running the resort until there
\nis a legal appointment. The trial that began last August will
\nresume in March.\"<\/p>\n
Casino Austria executive Allan Tan responded by saying that
\nthe owners were prepared to go to \"any lengths\" to drive out his
\ncompany.<\/p>\n
The Union of Christmas Island Workers, which has called for a
\ngovernment-appointed administrator to take over, has
\nmisunderstood the situation, Tan said as quoted by The West
\nAustralian on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Gani said that Sumampow had several firms dealing in property
\nand hotel management in Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java) and Bali.<\/p>\n
Among Sumampow's properties are Hotel Acacia in Central
\nJakarta, Darmo Bukit Golf in Surabaya and a planned shopping
\ncenter for Denpasar, Bali.<\/p>\n
The 137-square-kilometer Christmas Island, controlled by
\nAustralia, is situated about 3,000 kilometers north of Perth and
\n500 km south of Jakarta. Christmas Island Resort opened in
\nNovember 1993 and has since become popular with Indonesians for
\nits gambling, which is illegal in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Gani said that the resort recently hired 350 workers but that
\nit has become less popular in recent years due to ineffective
\npromotion. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/christmas-island-to-loose-major-earner-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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