SINGAPORE, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The full opening of one of Singapore's casinos may be delayed due to construction issues and a shortage of labour, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.
The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort, awarded to Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in 2006, is several months behind schedule, the pro-government daily Straits Times said, citing sources. The casino was due to open at the end of 2009.
The newspaper said the foundation work for the casino was delayed three to four months and quoted sources as saying it was "impossible" for all its facilities to be fully operational by the end of 2009.
Marina Bay Sands officials were not immediately available for comment.
Built on reclaimed land from the sea, the project is one of two multi-billion dollar casinos under construction since Singapore legalised casino gaming in 2005 to attract more tourists.
The second casino, Resorts World at Sentosa, is being built by Genting International (GNTG.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and is scheduled for completion in 2010.
Resorts World may also see a delay in the opening of some of its facilities, although a casino spokeswoman said it was "on track" for a "soft opening" in 2010, the paper said.
The two casinos have been hit by higher construction costs since building began, causing Genting International to revise its costs for Resorts World up 15 percent to S$6 billion last year.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Anshuman Daga)
Source
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
NEC casino plan safe from credit crunch
The credit crunch will not restrict the development of a £90 million casino and leisure complex at the NEC, the company behind the scheme has said.
The announcement comes as many other large scale projects in Birmingham and the surrounding area are put on hold by developers fearful of the current economic climate.
Genting Stanley, which recently moved its UK headquarters to Birmingham, is the largest casino operator in the country with more than 40 outlets.
The business is owned by Malaysia-based Genting International, a publicly traded subsidiary of Genting Berhad that operates resorts and casinos around the world. The company plans to operate the NEC casino and the venue is expected to be a major enticement in helping lure tourists to the exhibition centre site.
The scheme comprises a casino with 150 slot machines and a maximum jackpot of £4,000, a hotel and spa, bars and restaurants.
However, the plan is dependent on Solihull Borough Council granting the company a licence to operate the casino.
The authority’s licensing committee is drawing up the ground rules for the decision-making process and it is likely that a public consultation exercise will be necessary before the licence is approved.
Bids from prospective casino operators have to be submitted by April next year and if there is only one bidder then the licence is likely to be granted by June 2009.
If there are two or more bidders, a final decision could be delayed until this time next year.
Executive deputy chairman of Genting Stanley, Peter Brooks, said that the company would be working with both the NEC and the Solihull authority to make the process as easy as possible.
However, he said that no planning application would be submitted until the licence was granted.
“We will work hard with both the NEC and SMBC to develop the project,” he said. “We want to create something that everyone can be proud of.”
Asked if the poor economic climate had had an impact on the scheme, Mr Brooks said: “The timetable for the project remains but it is a moving target.
“We are expecting to get project financing but we are in the hands of the financial markets. However, we have a robust plan, a strong covenant and we can address the challenges,” he added.
The company said it was wary of the current climate and the impact it could have for attracting customers to the new site, however, he added that by the time the casino was ready to open – probably early 2012 if everything goes to plan – the economy would hopefully have turned.
“If things haven’t calmed down by then, then there will be lot of larger things to worry about,” said Mr Brooks.
The casino development itself is expected to be a unique design and Mr Brooks said there were no comparable buildings anywhere else in the group’s portfolio.
However, he said the development would probably be on a scale of the Star City complex.
The scheme, in conjunction with a £28 million makeover of the NEC Arena, will create more than 1,000 jobs and is crucial to a transformation strategy intended to turn the NEC from primarily a conference centre into a major leisure destination.
Although primarily known internationally for casinos, Genting Stanley’s parent group operates some of the most prestigious hotel complexes in the world.
One of the best known is as the Genting Highlands Resort in Malaysia, which offers a wide array of leisure and entertainment facilities supported by no less than 10,000 hotel rooms.
Genting International is also developing the £2.2 billion “Resorts World at Sentosa” integrated resort in Singapore which will be home to a world-class range of attractions including a Universal Studios theme park.
Source
The announcement comes as many other large scale projects in Birmingham and the surrounding area are put on hold by developers fearful of the current economic climate.
Genting Stanley, which recently moved its UK headquarters to Birmingham, is the largest casino operator in the country with more than 40 outlets.
The business is owned by Malaysia-based Genting International, a publicly traded subsidiary of Genting Berhad that operates resorts and casinos around the world. The company plans to operate the NEC casino and the venue is expected to be a major enticement in helping lure tourists to the exhibition centre site.
The scheme comprises a casino with 150 slot machines and a maximum jackpot of £4,000, a hotel and spa, bars and restaurants.
However, the plan is dependent on Solihull Borough Council granting the company a licence to operate the casino.
The authority’s licensing committee is drawing up the ground rules for the decision-making process and it is likely that a public consultation exercise will be necessary before the licence is approved.
Bids from prospective casino operators have to be submitted by April next year and if there is only one bidder then the licence is likely to be granted by June 2009.
If there are two or more bidders, a final decision could be delayed until this time next year.
Executive deputy chairman of Genting Stanley, Peter Brooks, said that the company would be working with both the NEC and the Solihull authority to make the process as easy as possible.
However, he said that no planning application would be submitted until the licence was granted.
“We will work hard with both the NEC and SMBC to develop the project,” he said. “We want to create something that everyone can be proud of.”
Asked if the poor economic climate had had an impact on the scheme, Mr Brooks said: “The timetable for the project remains but it is a moving target.
“We are expecting to get project financing but we are in the hands of the financial markets. However, we have a robust plan, a strong covenant and we can address the challenges,” he added.
The company said it was wary of the current climate and the impact it could have for attracting customers to the new site, however, he added that by the time the casino was ready to open – probably early 2012 if everything goes to plan – the economy would hopefully have turned.
“If things haven’t calmed down by then, then there will be lot of larger things to worry about,” said Mr Brooks.
The casino development itself is expected to be a unique design and Mr Brooks said there were no comparable buildings anywhere else in the group’s portfolio.
However, he said the development would probably be on a scale of the Star City complex.
The scheme, in conjunction with a £28 million makeover of the NEC Arena, will create more than 1,000 jobs and is crucial to a transformation strategy intended to turn the NEC from primarily a conference centre into a major leisure destination.
Although primarily known internationally for casinos, Genting Stanley’s parent group operates some of the most prestigious hotel complexes in the world.
One of the best known is as the Genting Highlands Resort in Malaysia, which offers a wide array of leisure and entertainment facilities supported by no less than 10,000 hotel rooms.
Genting International is also developing the £2.2 billion “Resorts World at Sentosa” integrated resort in Singapore which will be home to a world-class range of attractions including a Universal Studios theme park.
Source
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Genting subscribes to additional 300 million shares in RWS
PETALING JAYA: Genting International Plc has subscribed to an additional 300 million new shares in Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd (RWS) for S$300mil cash.
Proceeds from its rights issue last year of 3.61 billion new shares would be used to pay for the new shares in RWS, Genting said in a filing with the Singapore Exchange on Thursday.
The additional investment in RWS via its wholly-owned subsidiary Star Eagle Holdings Ltd would not have any material impact on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of Genting for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2008, it said.
RWS, which was awarded the right to develop an integrated resort project on Sentosa island by the Singapore government in 2006, had completed in April the syndication of S$4bil credit facilities for the integrated resort development.
The credit facilities were expected to fund two-thirds of the S$6bil project cost with the remaining to be paid through equity raised through the successful rights issue last year by Genting International.
Genting International, the parent of RWS, is a 54.5% unit of Malaysia’s Genting Bhd.
Source
Proceeds from its rights issue last year of 3.61 billion new shares would be used to pay for the new shares in RWS, Genting said in a filing with the Singapore Exchange on Thursday.
The additional investment in RWS via its wholly-owned subsidiary Star Eagle Holdings Ltd would not have any material impact on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of Genting for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2008, it said.
RWS, which was awarded the right to develop an integrated resort project on Sentosa island by the Singapore government in 2006, had completed in April the syndication of S$4bil credit facilities for the integrated resort development.
The credit facilities were expected to fund two-thirds of the S$6bil project cost with the remaining to be paid through equity raised through the successful rights issue last year by Genting International.
Genting International, the parent of RWS, is a 54.5% unit of Malaysia’s Genting Bhd.
Source
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