Genting reaches the UAE?

According to the financial weekly “The Edge”, Lin Guotai pointed out at the shareholders' meeting held last Friday in response to shareholders' questions about the company's international expansion plans.

Regarding the upcoming Sentosa Resorts World (RWS) 2.0 expansion, he also said that it should not be viewed as a casino expansion; a large portion of the investment was to expand non-casino portfolios in line with Singapore's strategy to become an activity-driven travel destination.

Lin Guotai explained that the bid conditions for operating Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore were for integrated resorts, not just casinos.

He anticipates that more countries will follow Singapore's example and support the development of integrated resorts.

For investments in the UAE, he believes it is “unlikely that there will be an international tender for a casino development project.”

Furthermore, he revealed that he will be more cautious about the Thai market, wait until the details of the regulatory framework are clarified, and cite his previous experiences in Japan.

Earlier, Genting Singapore had always been a leader in obtaining a comprehensive resort license for Yokohama, but after the Yokohama mayor was changed in 2021, the local integrated resort bidding program was withdrawn.

He believes that Thailand's gaming legislation has only recently been passed, and the specific details about the rules, regulations and tendering process are very general and lacking, so it is necessary to determine the key details.

For example, the location and whether local residents are allowed to gamble, etc. are all determined before the company can decide whether to consider bidding.