Published June 17, 2009

Genting head sees no obstacle to investing in Macau

By S JAYASANKARAN
IN KUALA LUMPUR

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A SENIOR official with Resorts World, a subsidiary of Malaysian gaming conglomerate Genting, told company shareholders yesterday that he did not see any obstacles investing in Macau, a gaming haven off Hong Kong, but clarified that no decision had been made on the matter.

'There is no hindrance for Resorts to invest ... the answer is a big maybe.' - Lim Kok Thay, chairman and CEO of both Resorts and Genting

'If the opportunity arises in Macau, there is no hindrance for Resorts to invest,' Lim Kok Thay, the chairman and chief executive of both Resorts and Genting, told shareholders. Mr Lim is the son of Genting's billionaire founder, the late Lim Goh Tong, and is one of Malaysia's wealthiest businessmen.

'The answer is a big maybe,' Mr Lim clarified. 'It depends on what the situation is.'

Mr Lim's comments will do little to dispel intense speculation that Genting, or Resorts, was poised to acquire the stake of troubled American gaming firm MGM Mirage in a Macau casino that the US firm jointly holds with Pansy Ho, the daughter of Asian gaming tycoon Stanley Ho.

Genting and MGM Mirage have already announced tie-ups in marketing and have both issued statements that seem to indicate a mutual admiration society of sorts. Indeed, Genting recently purchased a 3.2 per cent interest in MGM-Mirage. This came after both Genting and Resorts bought US$100 million worth of MGM-Mirage debt which it has issued to pare debt.

The reason for the speculation is well documented: MGM-Mirage is under pressure from US gambling regulators to sell its stake in Macau after the New Jersey Association of Gaming Enforcement raised objections to the US gaming firm's links to Ms Ho. MGM Mirage had sought to renew its gaming licenses in Atlantic City, which is in New Jersey, when the regulators flagged Ms Ho as a problem.

Even so, analysts remain puzzled by the proposition as Genting, which is building a casino in Singapore, also runs the risk of coming under scrutiny from Singapore regulators if it were to ally with Ms Ho. Thus, the 'no hindrances' comment from Mr Lim might conceivably refer to some other Macau venture.