GEN Singapore Boss Flags Uneven Recovery Pace in 2023

The chairman of casino operator Genting Singapore Ltd, Lim Kok Thay (pictured in a file photo), says while the group expects “continued recovery of travel and tourism” in the Singapore market, such recovery pace “may be inconsistent due to international flight capacities and unexpected border measures”.

“Economic uncertainties and inflationary pressure as well as manpower challenges emerge as areas of concern,” Mr Lim stated in a message included in Genting Singapore’s 2022 annual report, published on Tuesday. “We remain cautious but optimistic of our journey towards building a resilient recovery of our business.”

Genting Singapore is the operator of Resorts World Sentosa, one of Singapore’s two casino resorts. The firm is a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd.

According to Mr Lim’s message, 2022 was “the year the world began to adapt to living alongside Covid-19, resulting in reopening of international borders and revival of cross border travel.”

He added: “While global travel has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, there was an encouraging 19-fold increase in tourist arrivals to Singapore as compared to 2021.”

Singapore’s international visitor arrivals for 2023 may at least double, at 12 million to 14 million, relative to the 6.3 million achieved in 2022, with the latter figure already having beaten forecasts, stated in January the Singapore Tourism Board.

Genting Singapore posted annual net profit of SGD340.1 million (US$254.6 million) for full-year 2022, up 85.5 percent from the prior year. That was on revenue that rose 61.7 percent year-on-year, to SGD1.73 billion, according to the firm’s results published in February.

Genting Singapore has embarked on the renovation of some of its hotel properties and the expansion of Resorts World Sentosa. The renovation effort includes a complete remake of the Festive Hotel, which will “boost the resort’s room inventory by 389 keys,” said Mr Lim.

The overall cost of the expansion programme for Resorts World Sentosa is likely to be higher than the initially-budgeted amount of SGD4.5 billion. The information was provided by the management of Genting Singapore in a private conference call with investment analysts in late February.