Bad luck continues to dog Genting Singapore.

RWS should free the doplhins because bad luck continues to dog Genting Singapore.

In what Genting Singapore called a prudent move in the face of a slowing global economy and tightening credit conditions in China, the company raised its bad debt provisions to S$56.9 million for the third quarter, up from S$23.5 million a year ago.

That equates to 8.5% of its gaming revenue, higher than the average of 3% the past six quarters, Citigroup wrote.

‘However, this is in contrast to Marina Bay Sands, which has not shown higher provisioning, so we wonder if Genting Singapore’s decision was driven by its aggressive credit extension that was seen in the first half of the year,’ Macquarie Equities Research analysts wrote.

There are concerns that its flagship casino, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), continued to cede market share in both VIP and mass gaming segments to rival MBS.

“Genting Singapore lost significant gaming market share in 3Q11 and also did not see any ramp-up in non-gaming,’ the Macquarie report said. ‘We believe the VIP market share loss is more driven by lack of a competitive product relative to MBS.”

‘We find it interesting that notwithstanding Genting Singapore adding more table game capacity, slots and electronic table games (ETGs) (quarter-on-quarter), mass market failed to ramp and showed 2 per cent QoQ growth. This essentially means that table, slot and ETG yields all declined QoQ – at a time when there was available hotel room capacity,” the Macquarie report said.

The scheduled opening of Bayfront MRT at MBS may also shift some mass-market players away from RWS, it said.

Err maybe freeing the dolphins will help dispel the bad luck?

BTW, Morgan Stanley and OCBC are bullish on the stock.

Related posts:

https://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/two-dead-dolphins-rws-says-this/

https://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/rws-appeal-to-their-superstitious-nature/

Casinos: The price of IRs

Because S’pore wants a casino to be only part of an Integrated Resort, the resort owner only pays 17% tax.  In Macau, which is less squimish abt living off the gambling industry, the tax rate is 39%

Between April and November 2010 the IRs paid S$420m in taxes.

If the IRS here had to pay 39% tax, S’pore would have collected S$544m more.

Marina Bay’s 57th-floor “skypod”, the infinity “skypool”, the world’s biggest ballroom and a huge shopping centre., and RWS’s Universal Studios set, and its continued detention of Flipper’s friends, are only possible because of the 17% tax rate.

I’d forgo all these for more money.

Casinos: Junket operators have to be whiter than white

For the casinos, this means no biz from junket operators likely in the foreseeable future. So only income from the small gamblers of S’pore, Malaya and Indonesia, and in-house high rollers where they assume the credit risk. The fourth leg — high rollers courtesy of junket operators — is still missing.

Going by this BT report, before CNY, Junket regulations, on the very tough rules on junket operators that S’pore is putting in place, it is clear that the authorities have decided that they would rather lose high roller traffic than risk S’pore’s wealth mgt and banking aspirations.

Genting S’pore: Give it a break

Recently, there was an ant–terrorist exercise at RWS. Shouldn’t it have been held at Marina Sands?

In addition to being a casino, there are two more compelling reasons for it being a target for Paki terrorists. It is owned by an American and a church uses part of the place on Sundays to hold services.

Genting on the other hand is HQed in a Muslim nation and is no friend of Flipper — “The enemy of an enemy is my friend”.

Dolphins: cash for freedom?

Resorts World Sentosa and the Gentings gp have not been getting gd publicity on the dolphins’ issue. There was unfavourable media coverage from the local media, of all people and the govmin has weighed in stating that Gentings have to comply with all the int’l rules on captive dolphins. When these two disassociate themselves from a money-making machine like RWS, Gentings gp needs to take note.

The dolphins are now believed to be somewhere in the Philppines, having been quietly airfreighted ASAP from Langkawi. The int’l media and animal rights activists are trying to find out where they are. Now if one or more were to fall seriously ill or, worse, die, Gentings would face more bad publicity. And punters may think it bad luck to gamble at a place that hurt or killed Flipper’s friends.

Genting S’pore shld ask the govmin how much it will cost Genting to get the condition that it has to have dolphins in the IR removed. And if the govmin refuses or demands too much money, Genting can tell the world, “We tried.”

Whatever the outcome, institutional investors in the West will be more receptive to buying Genting S’pore shares. Now they run the risk of  being associated with a “Killing Flipper” investment. The other listcos in the Gentings gp also run the risk of being accessories to the murder of Flipper.

As to paying out money, Genting is rumoured to be used to it. It is widely believed in M’sia that the attacks by the Malaysian Chinese Association on the busing of M’sian gamblers to Sentosa, is motivated by money. With an election coming, the MCA wants money from Gentings. In return, the attacks will cease.