Ho taps at Singapore’s back door
There was one question that the people from Resorts World at Sentosa didn’t want to answer during a media briefing on the sidelines of Asean Tourism Forum in Singapore last week.
The question was this: Does Stanley Ho, octogenarian owner of the Lisboa and 15 other Macau casinos, have a stake in the Sentosa operation, which has been awarded to Malaysia’s casino operators Genting International in partnership with sister company Star Cruises?
The S$5.2 billion (US$3.4bn) Resorts World at Sentosa will be completed in early 2010 and, according to the developers, “will put Singapore on the world map as a leading leisure holiday destination”.
The resort will include Universal Studios Singapore, plus the world’s largest oceanarium, six hotels, and the luxury spa brand, ESPA.
But back to Stanley Ho and the deal he has reportedly struck with Star Cruises, owned by the Genting International group, to buy a 10 percent stake in the company in exchange for the rights for Genting to build and operate a casino in Macau True or not? “We are not here to discuss ownership. All I will say is that Mr Ho has no interest in Resorts World,” said a company spokesman, who was clearly unimpressed by the question.
No direct interest, maybe, but popular opinion around the gaming tables is that Ho’s investment in Star Cruises will give him a backdoor entry into Singapore’s gaming business.
Meanwhile, Ho is facing more competition in his own backyard. Richard Branson plans to open Macau’s most expensive resort yet, a US$3 billion casino, hotel and entertainment complex in the emerging casino alley, the Cotai Strip.
Branson hopes to open his new resort by 2010 in partnership with Australia’s Tabcorp Holdings.
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