PETALING JAYA: Genting Singapore PLC, which has been issued a licence for its casino at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), is expected to open its doors this week.

Managing director Justin Tan Wah Joo said in a statement yesterday that RWS, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Genting Singapore, was issued the licence by Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority on Feb 6. RWS is one of two casinos which will start operation in Singapore this year.

Genting Singapore saw its shares shed 2 cents on the Straits Times Index to S$1.09. Genting Malaysia’s share fell 6 sen to RM6.72 yesterday. The company suspended its trading in its securities in early trade to formally announce the receipt of the casino licence. However, it did not say when it expects to open the casino in RWS.

Men walk past Singapore's first casino which is expected to open this week. - APfile. Singapore regulators said Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, they issued Resorts World Sentosa a license to operate the city-state's first casino.

News report said the group might open its Universal Studios theme park at RWS on Feb 11 and the casino a day after.

Attempts to contact Genting Singapore, Genting Malaysia and RWS to confirm on its opening were unsuccessful.

RWS opened four of its hotels on Jan 20, and will open other attractions in phases, while Marina Bay sands (MBS) has said it would open in mid-April.

“The opening will allow RWS to capitalise on the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations, often the most active time for Asian gamblers,” an analyst said, adding that beating MBS would allow RWS to capitalise on the excitement around Singapore’s much anticipated entry into gambling.

Morgan Stanley estimated that the Singapore’s gambling industry could generate between US$3bil and US$3.7bil of revenue in its first year of operation.

ECM Libra Research said it came to understand that RWS would open its doors to casino patrons yesterday. “To open a week before CNY will allow RWS to capture the higher margin mass market CNY volumes.”

“With MBS slated to open between April and June, RWS will take the lion’s share of the Singaporean gaming market which we value at S$4bil. With two to four months lead time, avid Singaporean gamblers will opt to pay the annual levy of S$2,000 rather than pay S$100 per 24 hour visit and commit themselves to gambling at RWS,” it added.

“With these first mover advantages, RWS is able to help contain cannibalisation on sister casino, Resorts World at Genting (RWG), by cross selling before MBS opens. We understand that the purpose of establishing the Simon Chelsea Premium Outlets and potentially hotels and theme parks in Johor is to direct RWS-RWG Malaysian patrons away from MBS,” it said.

TA Securities said rumour had it that tenants have been gearing up for opening by weeks-end, which marked the start of CNY festivities.

“If casino does open by Feb 13, we estimate that the additional 47 days worth of gaming receipts could add about S$209mil of FY10 revenue. Bottom-line would increase by S$63.67mil or 10.5%,” it said.

Analysts said Singapore’s casinos was well-placed to tap gamblers’ interest in Southeast Asia, and could possibly take business from the region.

According to Nomura Equity Research, investors would be watching if the competition from the two new casinos in Singapore prove less severe than what was currently anticipated by the street.

It added that investors would be assessing the impact of the two new casinos closely over the next 12 months on Genting Malaysia’s business.

“To reflect the potential threat from the two casinos in Singapore, we have factored in a 30% drop in high-roller business, 20% drop in VIP business, and a 10% fall in the mass-market contribution for FY10f.

“The fall in mass-market contribution is likely to be temporary, given the novelty factor of the new casinos.

“Over the long term, we expect the mass-market segment to stabilise, since it is difficult to imagine Malaysian mass-market punters making regular visits to Singapore,” Nomura said.