Despite facing several domestic and international competitors from Japan, Genting Singapore is considered to have a great chance of winning the Yokohama casino license, and it is expected to win the long-awaited gambling license as soon as June this year.
The bidding for the Yokohama integrated resort operating license will close on June 11, and the winner will be selected this summer. The analysis research report released by Maybank investment bank pointed out that Genting Singapore’s tourism promotion, management and financial capabilities, and gambling activity responsibility are the factors that make its ratings higher than other competitors.
Genting’s competitors in Yokohama Integrated Resort include Macau’s Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings, and Japan’s Shotoku Corporation. However, Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts, and Hong Kong Galaxy Entertainment have withdrawn from the Yokohama gambling license competition.
Analysts pointed out that Genting Singapore, in which its parent holding company Genting Berhad holds 52.7%, is expected to bring in net profit of US$2.7 billion per year if it is allowed to enter the Yokohama gaming market in Japan.
The Japanese Government intended to open four integrated resort casinos across Japan, and it is expected that the total annual gaming revenue can reach US$11.7 billion. Yet 60% of the gaming revenue is expected to flow to Yokohama in Kanto. The remaining three integrated resort plans are located in Osaka, Wakayama, and Nagasaki. Genting Singapore originally intended to bid for the Osaka gambling license, but eventually decided to focus only on Yokohama.
If Genting is approved to develop an integrated resort in Yokohama, analysts believe that the group will enter the Japanese market in a joint venture with a local company. By then, the total value of Yokohama Resorts is expected to be as high as US$5.4 billion, or equivalent to Genting Singapore’s value of S$0.60 per share.