Genting Group Invests $10bln for IR in Japan
In the midst of accusations of graft against Japanese politicians and a concerted attempt by the opposition to revoke the Integrated Casino Promotion Act, the Japanese government agreed to delay the release of its Basic Policy final collection of requirements for nominating candidates, as the Diet required more time to evaluate public opinion, assess the extent of the harm to the reputation of the policy
The commitment displayed by the Japanese government to prove that this contest will not be determined anywhere but by the bids, opens the door to more applications from the world's largest casino, leisure and resort operators such as Genting Group, who are able to devote effort and money through their Singapore subsidiary Genting Singapore to the IR initiative.
Genting Group Takes The Idea To Heart
As presented to its shareholders in a circular ahead of an Extraordinary General Meeting /EGM/ planned for February 4, with a view to securing shareholder support and directors' permission to send multiple bids, the group is proposing a $10bn cap for its project, intending to submit bids for several locations while building an integrated Japanese casino resort
“The Company expects the return of the Japan IR project to be commensurate with market expectations and conditions of similar projects in the leisure, hospitality and gaming industry”,
Lim Kok Thay, Executive Chairman, Genting Singapore.
Clearly expressing their interest in Tier 1 locations such as Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama, the group made it clear that the complete execution of any proposal they submitted would depend on other considerations, including the passage and enforcement of the applicable regulations on how these integrated resorts could work, and the final development, pre-opening and construction costs.
Who Competes Against Genting?
Obviously, Genting Group, along with Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts and Galaxy Entertainment Group, is known to be one of the major players in bids for IR ventures in Malaysia, where there are no casinos owing to the illegal status of gaming, 2 casino integrated resorts in New York and Las Vegas in the United States, and 1 in Singapore, the Bahamas and the United States.
All applicants will have to apply their bids in the period January-July 2021, after the Japanese government approved the Basic Policy, with the actual projects planned to commence in August at up to three chosen sites, with the first opening of an IR not earlier than the second half of the decade.
