Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | 16 COVER STORY with Barisan’s pandering to the Malaysian majority, and it appears he’s gained support as well among increasing numbers of Malays who’ve grown tired of a regime perceived as irredeemably corrupt from too many years in power. Prime Minister Najib Razak’s supporters, on the other hand, are alarmed by Pakatan Rakyat’s dependence on Islamic religious parties. They contend that Barisan has delivered political stability, robust economic growth and social reforms. Whether or not a win by Mr Ibrahim would have extended the reach of Sharia law beyond domestic and religious matters involving Muslims, as Barisan warned, financial markets certainly were relieved that he didn’t. The ringgit jumped almost 2% with Mr Razak’s victory, one of its best performances ever, and the Bursa Malaysia’s KLCI Index hit record highs. Genting Group’s resort arm, Genting Malaysia, which trades on the Bursa’s Main Market, kept its own counsel on the results, but it has made no secret of its bullishness on Malaysia’s prospects and its US$4 billion- plus worth of hotel and gaming assets there. Despite“regional competitive pressures”and a “cautious” outlook on gaming’s prospects generally, “Growth in regional tourism and domestic private consumption augurs well,” the company has stated. Its Resorts World Genting flagship in Genting Highlands about an hour from the capital city, together with a pair of resort hotels in Langkawi on the Andaman Sea in the northwest and in Kijal on the South China Sea coast, account for more than 60% of the company’s global revenues and 90% of EBITDA. Genting Highlands—a complex of 8,000 rooms and suites in five hotels, theme parks and other family-oriented attractions, more than 100 food outlets, shops, an 18-hole golf course and MICE space—generated RM2.04 billion in EBITDA last year (US$688.2million) on RM5.48 billion ($1.85 billion) in revenue. It recorded more than 20 million visitors in 2011, primarily Malaysians, followed by Singaporeans and Indonesians and lesser numbers of Thais, Vietnamese, Chinese and Indians. More than 70% of visitors are day-trippers, an indication that Casino de Genting, the resort’s collection of themed gambling venues containing 3,000 slot machines and electronic table games and 500 live tables across 200,000 square feet, is a big draw, if not the biggest. It helps, too, to have the national gambling monopoly, a happy circumstance that is allowing the company to beef up efforts to market itself as more than the low- rollers paradise it is perceived to be and to spend more aggressively to attract high- limit players from the wider region. In 2011, the company purchased two aircraft for this purpose. Anwar Ibrahim This isn’t about bragging rights but about economic development and jobs for a nation that needs them badly. Tourism accounts for about 10% of employment in a country where 55% of the economy relies on services and the jobless rate is the highest in Southeast Asia. The goal is 10 million tourist arrivals by 2016, or about double last year’s figure. It could mean more than 3.5 million jobs, according to official projections. The vision began to take shape in March with the opening of Entertainment City’s first megaresort, Solaire. Its US$750 million first phase has created 4,500 jobs at a gorgeous facility that includes 1,200 electronic gaming machines and 295 table A t about US$2 billion in annual revenues currently, the Philippines is well on the way to securing its position as Asia’s third- largest casino market, and the next five years or so could see it vying with Singapore for second place as resort development at the government-owned Entertainment City complex in Manila reaches critical mass. Tourism accounts for about 10% of employment in a country where 55% of the economy relies on services and the jobless rate is the highest in Southeast Asia. Solaire Resort & Casino, Manila What Can Go Right THE PHILIPPINES