Marina Bay Sands Casino hotel eyes biggest trade shows

Marina Bay Sands expects MICE business to be in full swing in five years

Marina Bay Sands, the US$5.5bil integrated resort in Singapore, is expected to see its meeting, incentive, convention and exhibitions (MICE) business run at capacity in three to five years after the resort opens its doors early next year.

President and chief operating officer Michael A. Leven said it would take time for Marina Bay Sands to attract the biggest and leading conventions and trade shows but he was confident that Asia’s largest ballroom would see its enormous capacity taken up in a matter of time.

“It is going to take a couple of years. Usually in the hospitality and convention industry, the problem is some of these conventions get booked four to five years in advance, especially the very large ones,” he said in a briefing.

“It’s going to take some time before that frees up.”

Leven was speaking after the topping-up ceremony of Marina Bay Sands earlier this month.

The Marina Bay Sands construction site stands along a major highway in Singapore. The US$5.5bil Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino project is expected to open in January or February. – AP

When completed, the resort’s MICE facilities would cater to 45,000 delegates.

There will be 250 meeting rooms at the facility and the building is able to host 2,000 booths.

The ballroom alone can cater up to 11,000 people in a single event.

“I view this particular product as being the dominant Asian MICE building and Singapore has tremendous appeal internationally. I don’t see why this won’t be on the circuit of the major trade shows,” said Leven.

“The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is sold out and it is not very big, We get a shot at that (business).”

On its own, the MICE business will not be a tremendous profit centre for the resort as Leven said it would feed onto what the rest of the integrated resort had to offer.

The resort would be cashflow positive within the first couple of months of operations, said Leven.

Marina Bay Sands is the most expensive “casino” in the Las Vegas Sands group.

The iconic development features three 55-storey hotels that will have a 375m long SkyPark on the top of the hotels. The SkyPark will have 1ha of open space.

Leven said Marina Bay Sands would have greater variety than the group’s business in Macau in its present configuration.

“Macau is heavily gaming-orientated. We are in the process of building our MICE and tourist businesses there but it is a much smaller situation because of the nature of Macau as a destination,” he said.

Leven said Singapore was more couple- and family-friendly than Macau had traditionally been.

“A higher percentage of our business will come from non-gaming operations than Macau today. Over the future we expect Macau to change its percentage as the Cotai Strip gets more built up. Marina Bay Sands will be more typical of Las Vegas than Macau is today,” he said.

Leven was also cordial when discussing the competition between Marina Bay Sands and Genting’s Resorts World at Sentosa saying the two resorts complement instead of compete with each other.

“I think Genting is a significant addition. I like the idea. I know it sounds strange liking Genting there because I think it’s going to help the overall tourist attraction base to Singapore itself,” he said.

Leven said the promotional activity by both integrated resorts would only help and their respective themes and features would be enough to differentiate one from another.

“From a marketing perspective, Sentosa will be more a family-orientated resort than we will. There will be some meeting and small MICE competition.

“From a competition standpoint and from the business travel, there will not be a significant amount of competition.

“There is a very big difference between the two places,” he said, adding that competition would be limited to the VIP and premium players at their respective casinos.

Leven said that once Marina Bay Sands fully opened, the number of people on its premises should average between 50,000 and 75,000 daily.

It would go as high as 100,000 people on certain days. The visitors to the Macau Venetian is roughly 65,000 people a day.

Marina Bay Sands is counting on attracting a large number of visitors from Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Thailand.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Genting S’pore casino set to open before rival

Genting Singapore’s Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) is in a good position to pull ahead of Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in the race to open the first casino in Singapore following a delay in the MBS project, analysts said.

MBS has delayed its soft launch to early 2010 from the original deadline of end-2009 due to a shortage of labour and materials, according to media reports.

HwangDBS Vickers Research, in its latest report, said with RWS on track for a targeted soft launch in January 2010 to catch the Chinese New Year (CNY) peak season, it was possible that RWS would open first.

This is despite RWS having started later, as it was awarded the project in December 2006 while MBS received its approval in May the same year, it noted.

Kenanga Research said in a company update report that RWS was likely to gear up construction works in order to open before MBS.

The research house said that as at March 31, RWS had already awarded about S$4.67bil worth of works out of the S$6.59bil project cost.

“Installation of various fun equipment in Universal Studios has begun while testing and commissioning is scheduled to begin in October,” it noted.

Analysts expect RWS to gain from “first-mover” advantage should it open its integrated resort ahead of MBS, noting that Singapore residents are required by the government to pay an entrance fee of S$100 per day or S$2,000 per year to the casino.

The annual pass is exclusive to one casino only, so the first integrated resort to open will have the advantage of locking in Singaporean patrons early, according to HwangDBS Vickers Research.

An analyst with a foreign brokerage said RWS was very likely to open in early first quarter next year and lock in more local and foreign casino patrons, especially those from China, during the Chinese New Year festive season.

“Whoever opens first will get the first batch of patrons to sign up to be its customer for one year, as seasoned punters will likely sign up for the annual passes,” he told StarBiz.

“Normally, people will get excited with something new but after a while, they will go for what they really want,” he added.

RWS is ready for the opening in the first quarter next year as everything, including construction, is on track while funding for the project is intact, according to the analyst.

“RWS would submit its application for casino licence in this quarter (third quarter).

“Probably it can get the approval before the fourth quarter this year if everything goes smoothly,” he continued.

Another analyst, who declined to be named, agreed that RWS would get first-mover advantage if it opened first, but it would be just an initial gain.

She said RWS had a different target market from MBS, noting that “RWS would attract more family persons with its theme park facilities.”

Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd is the developer of a 49ha integrated resort on Singapore’s Sentosa island.

The company will own and operate all key attractions at the resort, which houses six hotels, a casino, Universal Studios Singapore, The Marine Life Park, the Maritime Experiential Museum and the Equarius Water Park.

Resorts World at Sentosa is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Genting Singapore, a leisure and gaming company listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange.

Genting Bhd owns a direct stake of 54.4% in Genting Singapore.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Genting pays US$100m for 3.2% stake in MGM

Genting Bhd has paid US$100mil for a 3.2% stake in US casino operator MGM Mirage, an official from the US company said yesterday.

The stake was offered under a US$1bil equity placement by MGM Mirage last month.

“We take this as a sign of great confidence in our company,” Alan Feldman, senior vice-president of public affairs for MGM Mirage told Reuters.

Last month, Genting and its unit Resorts World Bhd had subscribed for a combined US$100mil worth of notes issued by MGM Mirage.

The notes were part of MGM’s US$1.5bil fund-raising exercise to help settle its outstanding debts and for general corporate purposes.

Malaysian analysts had said the investments could pave the way for Genting to acquire a stake in MGM or take over the US casino operator’s investment in MGM Grand Macau.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Resorts World in Genting among nine considered for top spot

RESORTS World Bhd (RWB), Malaysia’s leading leisure and hospitality conglomerate, added two more accomplishments to its portfolio when it was named the World’s Leading Casino Resort by the 2008 World Travel Awards and secured the fourth place in Malaysia’s Most Valuable Brands (MMVB) 2008 awards.

The resort topped nine other casinos in the world namely Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Monte Cristo, Johannesburg and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, USA to be named as the World’s Leading Casino Resort.

RWB is also a five-time winner in the Asia’s Leading Casino Resort Award category, besides winning the Asia’s Leading Family Resort Award early this year.

On top of the world: Resorts World senior vicepresident of marketing and sales Paul Chan (right) receiving the award at the World Winners Award Ceremony at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa.

“It is indeed a great honour for RWB to receive this award. We are proud and pleased to be acknowledged by travel professionals worldwide. Much of our success comes from the hard work and relentless efforts of our 13,000 employees at Genting Highlands Resort and this award is dedicated to each and every one of them. But, we will not rest on our laurels and will continue to evolve and innovate in our quest for world-class standards,” said RWB senior vice-president of marketing and sales Paul Chan upon receiving the award at the World Winners Award Ceremony at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos on Dec 2.

The awards was initiated in 1993 to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in the world’s travel and tourism industry.

Now in its 14th year, travel professionals and discerning travellers have come to regard the winners as the best endorsement that a travel product or service could aspire to receive.

Thousands of votes cast globally were by travel professionals from 167,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organisations in over 160 countries.

Winning a World Travel Award (dubbed by the Wall Street Journal as the ‘Oscar’ of the travel an tourism industry) has become one of the highest accolades a travel product or organisation can achieve.

Additionally, Genting Highlands Resort also shone in the local scene when they secured the fourth rank for the Malaysia’s Most Valuable Brands (MMVB) Awards 2008 with its flagship brand Genting – City of Entertain-ment receiving due recognition.

RWB was feted in an award ceremony on Nov 25 at PJ Hilton.

Organised by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) and The Edge, the valuation for the awards was conducted by Interbrand, a brand consultancy.

Over the years, RWB has carved its name as a leading integrated entertainment, leisure and hospitality operator in Asia. The renowned Genting Highlands Resort with its myriad attractions ranging from casinos to theme parks plus international shows and concerts, is a positive contributor to the tourism industry of Malaysia.

With its tagline ‘City of Entertainment’, the Resort is continuously upgrading an introducing new attractions and services for its esteemed customers.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2008]

Genting's Ground-breaking for Sentosa Project

Genting Bhd's Singapore-listed subsidiary Genting International Plc (GIL) took a step closer to securing the republic's second casino licence yesterday as it held a ground-breaking ceremony for the soon-to-be-built Resorts World at Sentosa.

“There is no issue now,” said Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang when asked about the suitability check by the country's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the issuance of a casino licence to GIL,

“We are only looking at our jurisdiction – who the partners and shareholders participating in Resorts World in Sentosa are,” Reuters quoted the minister as saying.

Investment analysts said the minister's remark was seen as a signal that the Singapore authorities were positive on the group's recent restructuring on the shareholding structure of the integrated resort (IR) project announced last month.

Earlier, the Singapore authorities were said to be uncomfortable with the involvement of Macau gambling magnate Stanley Ho in the project via his equity interest in Star Cruises Ltd, an associate of Genting Bhd.

Guests standing near a scale model of Resorts World at Sentosa displayed at the ground-breaking ceremony of Genting International's second casino and entertainment resort on Sentosa Island on Monday

This led to Star Cruises withdrawing from the project, effectively excluding Ho from the venture. Meanwhile, GIL pulled out from the partnership with Star Cruises and Ho to build a hotel casino in Macau.

One of the clauses in the development agreement between Genting group and the Singapore authorities states that the IR had to be 50% completed before a casino licence could be issued.

Also, Singapore's MHA will conduct ongoing suitability checks on the relevant parties to ensure that the consortium involved in the IR project met suitability requirements before and after the casino licence is issued.

Genting's share price fell to a low of RM6.40 (adjusted price after a 1:5 share split) early last month on concerns over the likelihood of it failing to secure the casino licence.

After the restructuring, the stock had, however, recouped all its losses, surging to a record RM9.25 last week. It closed at RM8.75 yesterday.

On the construction works for the Sentosa IR project, GIL would be dishing out over RM1bil, or S$508mil, worth of contracts starting this month up to June.

The group has allocated a budget of S$5.2bil for the project, which was awarded in December last year.

At the ground-breaking, GIL group chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay said he did not foresee any overruns in the budget although building material costs had gone up due to Indonesia's ban on the export of sand to Singapore.

“Currently we are still on budget because obviously in the initial tendering for the project, we had allowed for contingencies,” AFP quoted Lim as saying.

Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang (second, left) watches the Lion Dance performance together with Genting International Chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (second, right) at the ground-breaking ceremony of Resorts World at Sentosa here, today. Also present is RWS Chief Executive Officer Tan Hee Teck (left).

The resort, which is set to open in 2010, will be built on 49ha.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Genting holds groundbreaking ceremony for construction of Sentosa resort

Construction for the S$5.2 billion Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) officially began today, barely 18 weeks after Genting International (GIL) won the bid to build Singapore’s second casino resort. GIL chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay said that work has started on schedule, with the resort targeted for opening in the first quarter of 2010.

Today, a ground-breaking ceremony was held to mark the start of its construction, with Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang saying that RWS will significantly strengthen Singapore’s attractiveness as a leisure destination of choice for families.

“Over the next few weeks, I understand that RWS expects to award tenders worth S$508 million for construction and development services such as road diversion, reclamation works and site formation,” he said.

Those contracts, he added, will provide opportunities for Singapore’s small and medium enterprises, and bring about significant job creation in the construction industry.
Construction of the integrated resort has come at a time when construction costs are going up after Indonesia imposed a ban on the export of sand. Supply of granite from Indonesia is also disrupted after the authorities there detained barges carrying granite bound for Singapore, allegedly because they were also carrying sand.

But Genting’s Lim said that at the moment, the costs are under control.

Asked on the recent probity checks launched by the Casino Regulation Division of the Home Affairs Ministry, he said that such checks are an ongoing process.

Resorts World at Sentosa’s chief executive officer, Tan Hee Teck, said: “The ministry already put up the statement. It’s very clear that it’s an an ongoing process. Anyway, no one can apply for (the casino) licence now. It’s only when 50 per cent of the investment had been spent and 50 per cent of the gross floor area completed that anyone can apply for the licence.”

The Casino Regulation Department said in February that it was conducting suitability checks on “relevant parties” to ensure that the GIL-Star Cruises consortium meets the requirement for a casino licence.

Reports here suggested that Singapore authorities were uneasy with Genting’s recent deal in Macau, including its tie-ups with gaming magnate Stanley Ho, giving him 6.99 per cent stake in Star Cruises which was then part of the consortium to build the RWS project.

GIL later announced that it was selling its 25 per cent stake in New Orisol, a hotel and casino project linked to Ho, to Star Cruises, and that Star Cruises would withdraw from RWS project and sell its 25 per cent stake in the project to GIL.

Lim said the exercise was almost completed, except for the sale of Star Cruises’ 25 per cent stake to GIL, which still needed shareholders’ approval.

Asked to comment on the issue, Minister Lim said that RWS understood the need to conduct the probity checks.

“There’s no issue now,” he said.


Source : NST
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Genting bets on Global Casino Market

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong took a big “bet” when he started Genting Highlands Resort. It had put him on the brink of bankruptcy at one point but the risk has paid off in spades. We highlight the Genting group in the second part of our monthly series on the growth of large companies.

IN his autobiography, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong said it was important to be able to seize upon and exploit fleeting opportunities that were hard to come by in times of war or peace.

He grabbed the golden opportunity to develop Genting Highlands Resort in what was then an area in the wilderness and that granted him the sole casino licence in the country 40 years ago.

Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, 55, his second son who took over the helm in 2004, seems to have inherited his ability, based on the group's swift expansion abroad.

Assisting Kok Thay in the global push is his nephew Justin Leong, 28, who is the head of strategic investments.

The Genting group is now riding high on the liberalisation trend in the global casino business.

The new leadership has transformed the group, which was described in the past as “Malaysia’s sole casino owner”, into an international gaming group.

“Our global expansion is driven by the Singapore, Macau and British authorities' rapid pace in deregulating and opening up of their industries to foreign players,” said Leong, who is Goh Tong's only grandson in the business.

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong (right) has passed the baton to his son Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.

“Our ambition is to be one of the world’s top three gaming companies,” he added.

In the Far East, Japan may be the next country to liberalise its gaming sector. Naturally, the group would explore the opportunities there.

The award of Singapore's Sentosa Integrated Resorts (IR) project to Genting International Ltd (GIL), Genting Bhd’s subsidiary, last December has given the management and shareholders a strong boost of confidence that the Genting group could make it in the international race.

A month later, it partnered with Macau’s gambling baron Stanley Ho to run a hotel casino in the special administrative region.

Prior to this, GIL had taken over Stanley Leisure Ltd for £640mil (RM4.3bil). With this acquisition, Genting is now the biggest casino operator in Britain with 46 casinos.

“With a footprint of 41 casinos in the provinces and five in London, we are confident that we will be able to grow this business in Britain's rapidly deregulating environment,” said Leong, who is also the director of Stanley Leisure.

The Genting group is said to stand a good chance to bag even more gaming licences, should the British parliament give the nod to 17 new larger casinos.

The Genting group, which is running the successful Genting Highlands Resort (pic), is said to be keen on bagging the supercasino licence in Britain.

The dice seems to be rolling in the Genting group's favour, at least for now.

Investors were shovelling money into Genting shares, betting for the robust earnings growth that is expected to happen in 2010 when the Sentosa IR project opens for business.

The share price of Genting Bhd, the core company of the group, was flying to a record high of RM41.25 on Feb 5, almost double that in June last year, before it eased to RM36.25 last Friday.

Genting has long been a blue chip on Bursa Malaysia. But the passion for the stock had never been that strong before.

Just five years back, shareholders were disappointed when Genting group lost the race to grab one of the three casino licenses given out by the Macau authorities.

The failure did not augur well for the group at that time.

Investors started to doubt the group’s ability to expand its gaming business beyond the homeland, given that the earlier huge investment in Star Cruises Ltd did not yield promising results.

Also, there were concerns those upcoming luxurious foreign casinos would lure high rollers away from Genting Highlands to Macau.

Worse still, there was talk that Singapore and Thailand wanted to build casinos to woo more tourist dollars.

In addition, there were rumours on founder Lim’s health problem. This had triggered worries on the continuation of the casino licence in Genting Highlands, which is renewable on a quarterly basis.

The success in securing a foothold in a foreign land at least shows that the group is so far in good hands following Lim’s retirement.

Grabbing the opportunities fast is important, but being able to seize the viable ones is equally critical.

The diversified conglomerate has also grown its power generation business in China and India.

The Genting group bucked the trend by entering China’s power industry when foreign players were fleeing from it due to heavy losses caused by spiralling coal prices.

But power assets in China are the overseas ventures that have delivered good returns to the group so far.

The operating profit generated from the power division grew nearly 72% to RM458.58mil in the last financial year ended Dec 31, 2006.

During the year, leisure and hospitality contributed 63% to Genting’s total pre-tax profit, while the power division contributed 17% and plantation, 7%.

Commenting on speculation that the management intended to divest its non-gaming businesses to make Genting a pure global gaming group, Leong said:” We constantly review our business mix and portfolio of assets to ensure optimal returns for our shareholders.”

Last Friday, Genting announced that it was selling its paper and packaging business to an equity fund management firm, CVC Asia Pacific Ltd, for RM745mil cash.

Many speculate property to be the next division that the group would look into when it streamlines its business portfolio after the latest disposal, while the power and oil & gas divisions would probably be kept in the stable.

There is also a possibility that the group will list some of these businesses separately as it has done for its plantations division under Asiatic Development Bhd.

The Genting group seems to have a good set of cards in hand. But it has to play them right.

Analysts said execution is the key risk for the group.

There is a rather tight schedule for GIL to complete the construction of the Sentosa IR, failure of which may mean losing the licence to run a casino there. Furthermore, the issuance of the licence depends on the outcome of a “suitability check” by Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs.

There are high hopes and expectations on the group’s future. Investors are watching whether the new leadership will be able to enhance the solid track record that Goh Tong has set over the decades.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Genting Closer to getting Casino Licence in Singapore

PETALING JAYA: Concerns over the Genting group not being able to secure the casino licence in Singapore may ease after Star Cruises Ltd withdrew from the Sentosa integrated resort (IR) project, effectively excluding Macau gaming baron Stanley Ho from the venture.

Genting International Plc (GIL), which will have full control of the project, will also exit from its proposed partnership with Ho and Star Cruises to build a casino hotel in Macau to tap the China market.

The latest development raised hopes that the Genting group will pass the suitability check by Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry for a casino licence for the IR.

The ministry said last week the suitability check would be on GIL and parties associated with it. It also said the check would be an on-going process even after a licence had been issued.

The casino licence will only be issued when the Sentosa IR is 50% completed.

In a statement, GIL said the restructuring of the project's shareholding would “assist the company in the management process of (its) casino application in due course.”

However, the news did not stem the plunge in parent company Genting Bhd's share price.

Genting's share price slid to RM32, down RM2.50 or 7.25% yesterday.

Its unit Resorts World Bhd's share price was also bogged down by heavy selling, shedding RM1, or 7%, to RM13.30.

Year-to-date, Genting and Resorts World have lost RM9.25 and RM4.50 from their peak of RM41.25 and RM17.80 respectively.

Over the weekend, Genting's associate company Star Cruises announced it intended to withdraw its investment from Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd (RWS) by offering its 25% equity interest in RWS to GIL at a price to be determined later.

Also, GIL had agreed to sell to Star Cruises its 25% stake in New Orisol Investments Ltd, a vehicle for it to enter the Macau gaming market.

Analysts said Genting would benefit from the restructuring, in terms of profit contribution from Sentosa, because it held a bigger direct stake in GIL than in Star Cruises.

Resorts World, which owns a 36% stake in Star Cruises and 6.5% in GIL, will derive lower profit contribution from Sentosa as was expected in the original structure.

Instead, it can look forward to reaping a higher profit from Star Cruises' enlarged portion of the Macau gaming investment.

MIMB Investment Bank Bhd analyst Teh Kian Yong agreed that the announcements were positive news, but said it was still difficult to say if the group would pass the “suitability check” by the Singapore authorities.

Teh noted the outcome was very much dependent on whether the check would involve the entire Genting group.

“Don’t forget Stanley Ho will still own a stake in Star Cruises, which is also part of Genting group,” he added. Analysts generally believe that Genting would do everything possible to secure the casino licence even at the expense of terminating its venture in Macau if the situation warranted such a move.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Genting says it is cooperating with Singapore

SINGAPORE: Genting International Ltd. said Thursday that its multibillion casino resort in Singapore is more important than its Macau casino project and that it is fully cooperating with Singapore authorities to qualify for a gaming license.

"Sentosa is the more important project for Genting (than Macau),'' the company's chief executive, Justin Tan, told reporters.

"We only have a minority interest in Macau.''

Late last year, Genting International and and Star Cruises Ltd., both units of Malaysian gaming group Genting Bhd., were awarded the concession to build the casino resort on Sentosa Island.

But on Tuesday, the Singapore government said Genting's casino license was not guaranteed and that the consortium had to pass a screening process.

"There are still issues that need to be to be resolved (for Genting's license),'' Singapore Tourism Board Deputy Chairman Lim Neo Chian told reporters Thursday.

Singapore issued its warning to Genting International and Star Cruises a few weeks after the partners announced a casino-and-hotel deal with controversial Macau businessman Stanley Ho.

Ho is a key figure in Macau, a gambling enclave that has a reputation as an organized crime stronghold.

The tycoon heads a sprawling conglomerate that dominates Macau's economy, with interests ranging from hotels and banking to tourist attractions such as the Macau Tower.

Genting was to pay a 5 percent security deposit Thursday and sign the development contract that will allow it to start construction at the Sentosa site.

Genting International said late Wednesday that it is working closely with the Singapore authorities and is "fully committed'' to meeting probity requirements for a casino license.

The company said it "understands fully the necessity and requirements of thorough suitability checks on casino operators.''

Failure to secure a license would deprive the Genting consortium of potentially lucrative earnings from the gambling component of the Sentosa development.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Genting, Star Cruises not guaranteed casino licence

SINGAPORE: Genting International and Star Cruises are not guaranteed a casino licence in Singapore even if they sign a development agreement this week in the city-state, the government said Tuesday.

“The signing of the development agreement and the issuance of a casino licence are two separate matters,” a press release from Singapore's Casino Regulation Division said.

Star Cruises and Genting International, both part of the Genting group, are to sign today an agreement to develop a US$3.4bil casino and entertainment complex on Sentosa island.

The casino regulator said signing of the development agreement allowed the firms to proceed with construction, but “does not automatically qualify” them for a casino licence.

It said the Home Affairs Ministry had told Genting-Star that it would conduct suitability checks “to ensure that the consortium meets the suitability requirements before the casino licence is issued.”

The Singapore government had earlier sought clarification over a deal which would give Macau gaming tycoon Stanley Ho and a group of investors a 6.99% stake in Star Cruises. In return, Star and Genting International were to get stakes in a new boutique hotel and casino to be operated by Ho's Sociedad de Jogos de Macau.

A notice to the Singapore Exchange earlier this month said Star Cruises was “reviewing the structure in relation to its investment” in the Macau deal.

The pro-government Straits Times earlier reported that the deal with Ho had “raised a red flag” with Singapore authorities.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Macau Casino king plans to strike back at American Gaming Moguls

HONG KONG - Asian billionaire Stanley Ho will open a new casino in Macau on Sunday in an effort to strike back at American gaming moguls who invaded the Chinese territory after Ho's four-decade monopoly was broken up four years ago.

Ho's new HK$3 billion (US$384 million; euro295 million) Grand Lisboa Hotel _ a gold tower with 430 rooms and a top that looks like a giant lotus flower _ may also help Macau hold its new title as the world's casino capital.

Macau apparently edged out the Las Vegas Strip in revenue in 2006, raking in US$6.95 billion. The Las Vegas Strip's US$6.69 billion was a record, but not enough to stay ahead of Macau _ the only place in China with legalized casino gambling.

The 85-year-old Ho is ranked 84th on Forbes' 100 richest people in the world. He controlled all the casinos in Macau until his monopoly ended in 2002 and Las Vegas casino titans Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp. began building gleaming casinos and resort complexes.

The brash Americans have lured away many of Ho's customers with flashy gaming halls, snappy service, fine cuisine, designer boutiques and other Las Vegas touches.

A JPMorgan forecast said Ho's share of the market will dwindle until it holds just one-fourth by 2009.

Ho, who has 17 casinos, has complained that the Americans have been poaching his staff and stealing away customers from his VIP halls _ special rooms for high rollers who are the biggest source of revenue for Macau casinos.

Some of the sniping and trash talking erupted in public a few months ago in Macau, a peninsula and two islands on China's southeastern coast.

William Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp., told reporters that Ho was being a crybaby and warned him that in the next few years, Macau's market would become even more "brutally competitive.''

"We live everyday on the Las Vegas strip, where you can look out your window and see your competitor across the street and there aren't three competitors. There are 30 competitors,'' Weidner said.

Sands executives also told Ho to stay out of the kitchen if he couldn't take the heat. Ho shot back, "Not only won't I stay out of the kitchen, but I will also cook a barbecue pork rice set.''

Sunday's casino opening might be a good sign of whether Ho's cooking is still good enough

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

First Graduate of Singapore Casino Dealer Training Program

SINGAPORE - Her fingers moved nimbly, swiftly gathering the scattered casino chips from the green roulette table into her cupped palm in stacks of 20. Toh Xue Ling's record for "chipping,'' or restacking 100 chips into neat piles, is 24 seconds.

But the 18-year-old who just graduated from Singapore's first casino dealer training course is more proud of her ability to calculate pay-outs at the roulette wheel, where the winnings depend on the placement of a chip and require quick-thinking math skills.

"I feel confident about finding a casino job. I've mastered the skills and I'm ready,'' Toh said.

Toh and 37 classmates - dressed smartly in dealer uniforms of black trousers, white shirts, black vests and armbands - graduated Wednesday night in a ceremony marked by laughter, champagne and demonstrations of newly acquired dealing know-how.

They are the first class to complete the six-month Certificate in Dealing Casino Games at the International Club Games Training Center, a 20,000-square foot (1,858-square meter) space styled after a real casino and filled with dozens of baccarat, roulette and blackjack tables.

It is an unusual scene in Singapore, which legalized casino gambling in 2005 but is waiting for the construction of two casino resorts - slated for 2009 and 2010 - before the games begin.

Even then, Singaporeans may be dissuaded from testing their luck by proposed regulations requiring casino operators to collect a levy of 100 Singapore dollars (US$60; euro50) a day or S$2,000 (US$1,180; euro990) a year from locals visiting the casino.

The new gambling reality has sparked the interest and curiosity of many in Singapore, who hope to take advantage of the job opportunities and tourism boom that the casino resorts are certain to bring.

Training center CEO Ramachandar Siva said Singaporeans are in a perfect spot - educationally and regionally - to gain from the casino boom.

"The standards are high in Singapore education, and among Singaporeans,'' he said. "So that pushes us to set a high standard, and we can then offer quality, professional croupiers to casino clients. That's our main objective.''

He opened the center in November 2005 in response to Singapore's legalization of casino gambling and also to fill the high demand for croupiers on cruise ships and in the Asian gambling hub of Macau, where he said an employment crunch has led to rushed courses that graduate "half-baked'' dealers.

Besides learning the ins-and-outs of the games, the students are schooled in theoretical situations such as how to spot a cheat and how to remain calm with aggressive customers.

"The pressure is higher in Asian casinos than American ones,'' Siva said. "The typical Asian gambler is more gung-ho, more hard-core, places higher bets in more volume.''

The students are hoping all this work will pay off.

Joel Koh Yang Pang, 26, was self-assured as he stood at one roulette table, moving chips around the number board to demonstrate the patterns he had memorized for quick calculations.

"We are better prepared than many others already working in casinos,'' he said, explaining that he often stayed for hours after the five-hour daily course to practice what he had learned. "We're trained well, we have hands-on experience, we know about gaming security, we know so much.''

Many Singaporeans have only gambled at horse races and other sporting events, or on slot machines at some gaming parlors.

Koh was ready to change this.

"I want some experience overseas, and then I hope to come back to Singapore and work at one of the integrated resorts at a higher level,'' Koh said. "I have the knowledge, and soon there will be opportunities in Singapore.''

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Las Vegas Sands eyes Asian expansion

Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS), the owner-developer of Singapore’s first integrated resort (IR), is looking at other Asian countries for future expansion.

Chairman and chief executive officer Sheldon Adelson said India, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam offered good business opportunities.

He said the company’s Asian expansion programme would largely depend on whether the respective governments would welcome such a project.

“The gaming market is growing in Asia and we see there could be at least 10 Las Vegas-style resorts coming up in the near future,” Adelson said at the construction commencement ceremony of the S$5bil The Marina Bay Sands at the Marina Bayfront development.

Expected to open in 2009, the IR would have 2,500 five-star hotel rooms, 1.2 million sq for MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) 1 million sq ft for retail, food and beverage, and entertainment outlets including a casino.

From left: Sheldon Adelson, Dr Miriam Adelson, William Weidner and Lynn Weidner looking at the model of the Marina Bay Sands at the construction commencement ceremony yesterday. - ZAZALI MUSA/StarBiz

The Marina Bay Sands IR is one of the world’s largest investments for a single IR and by 2015, it is expected to contribute an additional S$2.7bil to Singapore’s gross domestic product.

Adelson said LVS would market the project as “a destination with style” that offered MICE-entertainment-dining-gaming under one roof.

He said the project sent a strong signal to other countries in Asia that Singapore was going to transform its tourism-related industry and emerge as a leading global player.

“We want to position Singapore as the MICE market leader in Asia and we are confident of doing that,” said Adelson.

LVS president and chief operating officer William Weidner said the Singapore project would not compete with the company’s Sands Macao Casino in Macao.

He said Macao was a casino-based business whereas a casino was just one of the elements in The Marina Bay Sands IR which offered more than gaming.

Weidner said the two resorts would complement each other with Macao targeting the mainland Chinese, Japanese and South Korean markets.

He said its Singapore resort would target tourists from the South-East Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, and those from the Indian sub-continent.

Weidner said the company had received good response from international retailers and Asian tour operators who were keen to market the project.

He said to date, the company had received interest from more than 250 prospective tenants and was also negotiating with 15 international organisations on hosting events up to 2013 at The Marina Bay Sands.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Genting: Stanley Ho not taking stake in Singapore resort

SINGAPORE: Malaysia's Genting International, which will build Singapore's second casino resort, on Monday denied reports that Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho will buy a stake in the city-state's Resorts World at Sentosa.

A Genting spokesperson told Dow Jones Newswires Ho and four others would take a stake in Star Cruises - Genting's consortium partner in the Singapore resort bid - but not in the casino.

Resorts World at Sentosa will remain 75 percent owned by Genting and 25 percent owned by Star Cruises, the spokesperson, who declined to be identified in line with policy, said.

The rumours had led the Singapore government to question Genting over its partnership with Ho, one of the most powerful men in Hong Kong and Macau, according to the Straits Times newspaper.

On Saturday, the Straits Times quoted Jackson Loy, assistant communications director for Genting, as saying that "Mr. Ho will not be having any interest in the Resorts World at Sentosa project.''

Genting declined to comment again on Monday on whether it has been queried by the Singapore government.

Ho is one of the most powerful men in Hong Kong and Macau, a gambling enclave.

The tycoon heads a sprawling conglomerate that dominates Macau's economy, with interests ranging from hotels and banking to tourist attractions such as the Macau Tower.

Genting's 5.2 billion Singapore dollar (US$3.38 billion; euro2.54 billion) resort is expected to be operating by 2010 on Singapore's resort island of Sentosa.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Next Genting in MACAU

Genting group is finally realising its dream of gaining a foothold in Macau - the Las Vegas of the east.

Partnering tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, Genting group through its units Star Cruises Ltd in Hong Kong and Genting International Ltd in Singapore will invest HK$4.7bil to build a hotel and a casino near Lago Nam Van in Macau.

The Macau venture is another milestone in Genting group's journey to becoming an international casino player. It already has presence in Malaysia, Singapore, Britain and the US.

“Genting Bhd is a different animal now. It is growing big in the international gaming arena,” said Kurnia Insurans (M) Bhd chief investment officer Pankaj Kumar.

He noted that Genting shares should be rated at par with those of US casino owners, which were currently trading at a “high 20s” price-earnings (P/E) ratio.

According to the IBES consensus estimates, Genting shares are traded at a P/E ratio of 18 times, implying the stock is undervalued compared with its international peers.

Genting had four years ago made a bid for one of three casino licences offered by the Macau authorities when the gaming sector was opened to foreign players after Ho's licence expired.

Ho, Nasdaq-listed Wynn’s Co and Hong Kong-based Galaxy Resort & Casino won the three licences.

Now, the partnership with Ho will enable Genting group to tap the world’s biggest gaming market.

Ho’s son Lawrence once commented: “There are 1.3 billion people living within three hours’ flight from Macau. And 100 million people are within the radius of a three-hour drive.

“Nowhere else in the world has (a casino) such an advantage, not even in Las Vegas or Australia.”

Ho currently owns more than 15 casinos in Macau.

Part of the deal with Genting involves Ho’s wholly-owned company Profit Boom Investment Ltd taking a stake in Star Cruises, which is involved in Singapore’s second casino.

In a statement, Ho said the acquisition in Star Cruises was his personal investment. “It has nothing to do with any of my publicly listed companies,” he said.

Macau’s gaming revenue surged to US$6.95bil last year from US$5.6bil in 2005, surpassing Las Vegas which was estimated to have achieved US$6.6bil revenue last year.

The boom in the region’s gaming business is mainly due to the big tourist crowd from China.

“The relaxation of China’s travelling policy in 2002 has helped boost tourist arrivals in Macau,” Macau Tourism Board director Joao Manuel Costa Antunes told StarBiz in an earlier interview.

According to Macau Statistics Bureau, the region received 21.99 million visitors last year, up 17.6% from 2005. It said 55% of the tourists were from China.

The pie is expanding but competition is also heating up in Macau. More betting tables and slot machines are competing for the tourist dollars.

Seven new casinos were opened last year, bringing the total to 24, and the number of gaming tables doubled to 2,762 during the same period, according to Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

In fact, The Standard, Hong Kong’s English language newspaper, quoted Ho as saying last August that one-third of his casinos’ VIP gaming halls faced “bankruptcy and thousands of jobs are at risk due to cutthroat competition”.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]