Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAR 2020年3月 亞博匯 53 日本 PROS • Has opted to fly “under the radar” in Japan • Singapore market known to be attractive to Japan • Singapore’s strong track record in effective responsible gambling initiatives CONS • Has opted to fly “under the radar” in Japan • Has enjoyed only mixed results in UK, US and Bahamas markets • Has set US$10 billion development cap in Yokohama The least well-known of the "Big 4", Genting is nevertheless a global gaming industry giant with a 55- year history. Founded by Malaysian Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, what was then known as Genting Highlands (now Resorts World Genting) opened for business in 1971 after many years of challenging mountainous construction. About an hour’s drive north of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, Resorts World Genting remains the spiritual home of the group and is owned by group parent company Genting Berhad. The subsequent decades saw much growth and the handover by Lim to his son Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay in 2003. KT Lim, who ranked number 4 on the IAG Power 50 list in 2019, remains Chairman of the company, overseeing a global empire with Resorts World branded properties in Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, the Philippines, New York state and Las Vegas (under construction) – but notably not Macau. Shrewdly, Genting has chosen to spearhead its campaign in Japan through its listed subsidiary Genting Singapore, one of two eventual winners in the Singapore licensing process which played out in the first decade of this century (the other winner being Sands, leading to the rise of Marina Bay Sands, as explained earlier). Japan has long yearned for the Singaporean IR model, at least in part, and some of Singapore’s fingerprints can be seen in rules already laid out for Japan such as a steep entry fee for locals, a tightly restricted gaming floor area and an aversion to junkets. Singapore’s squeaky clean image also plays into the sensibilities of the top end of town in Japan. Most notable of all for Genting Singapore is its dogged “no comment” policy, which has been a feature of Genting public relations for decades. This can work for and against. In support of the former is the adage, “Better to stay silent and be thought a fool than to 優 • 在日本市場發展上低調行事 • 其新加坡業務對日本具有吸引力 • 新加坡市場在負責任博彩方面有良好的績效紀錄 缺 • 選擇在日本市場上低調行事 • 在英國、美國和巴哈馬市場上的營運成績好壞參半 • 為橫濱項目的發展預算封頂，投資上限100億美元 在這一層的四家企業中，雲頂可謂最少人認識，但這家環球 博彩業巨頭其實已有55年的歷史，由馬來西亞商人林梧桐創辦， 旗下的雲頂高原（現稱為雲頂名勝世界）位於高山中，經歷了多年 的艱辛建設期，最終在1971年開業。該項目位於馬來西亞首都吉 隆坡的北面，距離約1小時車程，至今仍是集團的「精神支柱」，由 雲頂新加坡的母公司雲頂集團營運。 開業後的數十年間，集團增長迅速，創辦人林梧桐的兒子林 國泰亦於2003年接手公司業務，並出任集團主席至今。在「2019亞 博匯50強」中，林國泰位列第四位，負責拓展集團在全球的版圖， 旗下的「名勝世界」項目已遍佈馬來西亞、新加坡、英國、巴哈馬、 菲律賓、紐約州和拉斯維加斯（在建中），但未能踏足澳門市場。 在今次日本牌照競逐中，雲頂集團作出了精巧選擇，以子公 司雲頂新加坡為首作競投，在本世紀前十年，雲頂新加坡成功地 角逐了新加坡的賭場牌照，成為當地市場的兩家營運商之一（如 前文所述，新加坡另一博彩項目是金沙旗下的濱海灣金沙酒店）。 眾所周知，日本一直渴望至少在一定程度上複製新加坡的市場模