Malaysia’s Genting Having Record Year
Genting Bhd is in the midst of a financial windfall and the company isn’t afraid to share the news with the world. In a news conference held this week, Genting Chairman Lim Kok Thay said the company fully expects to set to reap record revenues this year.
An announcement of the winning Singapore bid is due any day and is expected to prove to be a windfall for the gaming company that is selected.
"The pie is growing. Asians love to game. The Chinese and Indian markets are expected to grow substantially," said Lim Kok Thay.
And though Macau has become the world’s leading gambling market – it now pulls in more revenue than the Las Vegas Strip -- Lim Kok Thay said the market’s incredibly fast growth has not made it difficult for the gaming company to keep improving its earnings.
"Macau has not affected us, and we're seeing a record year in terms of business,” he said.
Genting runs a casino in a Malaysian town of the same name, which is visited by more than 20 million people a year. A good chunk of them spend time in the company’s Resorts World casino. Resorts World is also experiencing record revenues.
According to Lim Kok Thay, Genting is set in the country’s highlands, which keeps the region cool, a favored climate for serious gambler.
The Genting Singapore bid for the Sentosa integrated resort is due to be called Resorts World at Sentosa and will contain a Universal Studios theme park with 22 attractions, six hotels with more than 1,800 rooms in total, an oceanarium with a 6.6-million gallon lagoon containing as many as 700,000 aquatic animals, a water theme park and a multimedia maritime museum.
One of the hotels would be a Hard Rock Hotel, a brand that is seeing much success in the United States when tied to a resort or casino project. Its flagship Las Vegas property is one of its most popular and opened more than 10 years ago.
Additionally, Genting said about US $127 million would be reinvested in the property on an annual basis to ensure the property is kept in tip-top shape, while also remaining fresh and appealing and to take advantage of new technologies and trends.
Genting has also been able to secure close to US $1.5 billion from five banks for the project thus far, according to Bloomberg News. “The company’s fundamentals are very strong,” Ken Hu of First State Investments in Hong Kong told Bloomberg. “It has a low debt level and strong cash flows. The project may add risk to the bondholders but I am not wary of any potential downgrade by the rating companies because of the additional borrowing.”
Other bids are from developer Mark Advent and his company Eighth Wonder as well as from Kerzner International.
The Kerzner bid, dubbed Atlantis Sentosa is proposed to be a US$3.3 billion resort modeled after its signature resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The property would merge an ocean theme with fine dining, hotels, attractions and casino. It will also include a water-theme park, seven million gallon water tank with whale sharks and the world's biggest jellyfish exhibit, and four hotels.
The Eighth Wonder project would include 10 hotels, wedding pavilions designed by Vera Wang and a soccer stadium named after soccer legend Pele, a spa and wellness center operated by spiritual guru Deepak Chopra and an oceanarium managed by EarthEcho International, a company headed by Philippe Cousteau. French celebrity chef Alain Ducasse would also debut a cooking school and have input on the more than 50 proposed food and beverage outlets. Also on tap are more than 35 rides and attractions as well as a 7,500-seat theater within the caldera of an artificial dormant volcano with a show created by Dragone Entertainment.
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