Non-Fox theme park to open in ’19
One of Malaysia’s wealthiest dynasties, the Lim family, has increased its ownership share in Genting Bhd, upping its majority stake to the tune of 300,000 shares. The Lims now own more than 1.478 billion shares or about 38.4 percent of the company. Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay is Genting’s chairman.
According to Asia Gaming Brief, shares in company and local unit Genting Malaysia have sold off heavily in the months since the government announced onerous new tax measures and a deal for a Twenty-first Century Fox theme park collapsed.
The branded theme park was deep-sixed when the all-powerful Walt Disney Company announced plans to buy Twenty-first Century Fox. But a non-Fox theme park “remains very much part of our plans” and will be ready as early as 2019, said Lim Kok Thay, the company’s chairman and CEO.
Genting is now suing both Disney and Fox, seeking more than US$1 billion in losses, an amount that could actually pay for the park in full.
Overall, the theme park is “just a small part” of Genting’s plans for its integrated resort. “The expansion plans up in Genting Highlands have been implemented in phases and visits have been growing, and in line with that, revenue and so on,” he said. “So it is pretty much on track that values will be delivered to shareholders.”
It’s been reported that Genting’s plans to bid on an integrated resort in Japan will be led by Genting Singapore. “Nothing is written in black and white that they would be the one,” Lim said when asked about the matter. “As a group, let Genting Singapore be the one that leads the way, and if they were to need help or support, other parts of the group could also contribute.”
Genting also could make another run at Macau if a seventh concession opens up during the license retender process starting in 2020, Lim confirmed. “Like Japan, we’re interested but we don’t know what the terms are. So again, like Japan, let’s wait and see what decisions the Macau government will make.”
