Preparations for the opening of Genting SkyWorlds, a new US$800 million theme park at Resorts World Genting, are now underway, according to an investor presentation by its operator, Genting Malaysia.
Although the company is yet to provide a firm opening date, it described Genting SkyWorlds as a “key growth initiative for the Group in Malaysia.”
Maybank IB analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang recently claimed that Genting Malaysia was racing to open the theme park by Chinese New Year after missing its previously stated December 2021 launch date. The company had blamed a need to iron out software issues for the delay, Yin said.
In detailing its short-term outlook to investors late last week, Genting Malaysia said it plans to “ramp up operational capacity by leveraging existing assets to meet increasing demand” and to “optimise [the company’s] cost base to drive productivity and efficiency.”
Affin Hwang analyst Ng Chi Hoong said in a note that Genting SkyWorlds will likely run at a loss during its early days as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.
“As the park would be operating at a capped capacity below its 20,000 visitors/day capacity due to social distancing requirements, the park would be operating at a loss, based on our forecast,” he said.
“As such, the impact from the increased overall visitation might be limited, but it would help raise the average spend per visitation.”