Genting H.K.’s dream shattered by German shipyard gamble

Genting Hong Kong CEO Lim Kok Thay bet big on Asia’s nascent cruise industry and his gamble appeared to be paying off as wealthy Asians took to the seas on the group’s luxury ships, complete with onboard casinos.

However the group is now fighting for its survival, with both Genting Hong Kong and its Dream Cruises unit under provisional liquidation. Covid and its outsized impact on the industry in Asia due to restrictive government policies have been blamed, but insiders say there were likely other factors at play.

Until the pandemic, cruises were the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry, with demand increasing by about 20 percent a year over the past five years. In 2018, the industry was estimated to be worth $150 billion and Asia was providing some of the most exciting opportunities for growth.

According to the Cruise Lines International Association, in 2019, 39 cruise brands were active in Asian waters, deploying a total of 79 ships. The number of ships deployed in Asia has grown 58 percent since 2014.

Lim was one of the early movers, founding Star Cruises in 1993 with a vision to grow the international cruise business in Asia. But it was in 2015, when the group really began to expand.

Source: https://agbrief.com/intelligence/21/02/2022/genting-h-k-s-dream-shattered-by-german-shipyard-gamble/