Genting Group’s casino business in Asia, or Singapore and Malaysia, is likely to benefit in 2024 from what Maybank Investment Bank Bhd calls a “massive return of Chinese tourists.”
“If Thailand liberalizes the IR industry, it can make a joint bid for a Thai Integrated Resorts (IR) license,” Maybank analyst Samuel Insao added through Zenting Singapore Inc.
Thailand’s lower house of parliament voted in October last year to form a 60-member committee to investigate the possibility of legalizing the domestic casino complex, local media reported at the time.
Mr. Yin said Genting Singapore had previously shown that it was “not reluctant to go abroad to prevent some competition.” He noted that the company had previously been linked to potential interest in making inroads into South Korea’s Jeju Island and had been a potential partner in metropolitan Yokohama with regard to bidding for one of its Japanese casino licenses before city officials decided to opt out of the race during the first round bidding process.
Looking at 2024, In said Maybank expects the resumption of Chinese outbound tourism after COVID-19 to help Genting Group’s gaming business across Asia. The trend could drive business growth at Genting Singapore Resort World Sentosa Casino Real Estate (file photo) “as seating capacity for flights from China to Singapore recovers,” he added in a note released on Saturday.
“Despite higher tax rates, we expect earnings to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels this year thanks to higher gaming revenue than pre-COVID-19 levels,” it said, referring to Genting Singapore. “We expect the majority of gaming revenue growth this year will come from Chinese tourists.”
The analyst pointed out that Singapore authorities recently introduced a policy to allow Chinese visitors to enter the resort for 30 days without a visa. “So, we hope that this year, Chinese visits to Resort World Sentosa will fully recover [to pre-COVID levels].”
“Over the long term, we expect Resort World Sentosa’s VIP trading volume and bulk market gross gaming revenue to exceed 2019 levels by about 20%,” he said.
In a separate Saturday note on Genting Malaysia Bhd, Maybank predicted that visitors to Resorts World Genting, Malaysia’s only casino resort, “should recover to pre-COVID-19 levels this year.”
Mr Yin said: “This will enable us to recover our full-year 2024 revenue by 60% year-over-year and Genting Malaysia to deliver a dividend yield of over 5.4% per year.”
Maybank said a potential positive catalyst for Genting Malaysia this year would be a company that has secured a Downstate commercial casino license in New York State.
The New York State Gaming Commission launched an application process request for three gaming licenses in New York State in January last year.
BY: 검빛경마