Review of Operations

GENTING INTERNAT I O N A L P. L . C . Annual Report 2005
Review of Operations
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GENTING INTERNAT I O N A L P. L . C . Annual Report 2005
Review of Operations
“We are well poised to capitalise on
strategic investment opportunities that will
strengthen our global presence”
2005 has been a significant year for Genting International as
new business district while the Sentosa site is to be located on
we executed key corporate exercises to strengthen our global
the popular tourist destination of Sentosa Island in Singapore.
presence.
Genting International and the Star Cruises Group made a joint
DEVELOPMENT
AND/OR
ACQUISITIONS
OF
INTEGRATED RESORTS
concept submission for both sites and we were one of the 12
bidders short-listed by the Government of Singapore in April
2005.
Genting International has over 20 years of international
gaming expertise and experience in developing, operating
Our vast experience and expertise enable us to attract other
and/or marketing internationally acclaimed casinos and
world-renowned brand operators as our strategic partners.
integrated resorts in different parts of the world including
One of these strategic partners whom we have announced for
Australia, the Bahamas, Malaysia, the Philippines and the
our Sentosa site bid is Universal Parks and Resorts
United Kingdom.
(“Universal”). Universal has successfully developed five
international theme parks around the world. A Universal
Our Group’s vast experience covers the entire project
Studio theme park in Singapore would therefore complement
spectrum from the acquisition of new sites to the construction
our bid by attracting higher tourist arrivals to Singapore.
and management of integrated resorts in jurisdictions where
casino concessions and licences were granted by relevant
We are now one of the 4 remaining bidders for the Marina Bay
authorities with stringent regulatory requirements.
site, the first of the two sites opened for the bid tender. We will
be submitting our proposal of a world-class iconic and unique
In April 2005, the Government of Singapore announced the
integrated resort for the Marina Bay site on 29 March 2006.
legalisation of casino gaming in its country and invited tenders
The selection process is currently ongoing.
for the development of two integrated resorts with casino
component at the Marina Bay and Sentosa sites. The Marina
Bay site is to be located in a central city area adjacent to a
GENTING INTERNAT I O N A L P. L . C . Annual Report 2005
CASINO OPERATIONS
Maxims Casino Club, London
Casino Related & Other Investments
www.maximsclub.com
We have a portfolio of investments in shares of listed
Genting International assumed management and operational
companies primarily in the leisure, hospitality and gaming
control of Maxims Casino Club, London in January 2005.
industries. The dividend income from our portfolio of
Located in Kensington, Maxims Casino Club is an exclusive
investments increased by 21-fold to S$8.4 million in 2005
members only club and is one of a select number of high-end
(2004: S$0.4 million). These investments include a 20%
casinos in London, United Kingdom. It is home to the finest in
interest in Stanley Leisure plc (“Stanley Leisure”) and a 29.8%
European and Asian cuisines and the ultimate in discreet, high
interest in London Clubs International plc (“LCI”).
stakes gaming. Our club members are mainly from Europe,
Middle East and Asia who are able to savour an experience
Stanley Leisure is one of the largest casino operators in the
rich in history and tradition, as they wine, dine and game in
United Kingdom with a total of 44 casinos (including Star City
one of London’s famous historical landmarks.
in Birmingham, one of the largest casinos in the UK). On
20 June 2005, Stanley Leisure announced the completion of
During the year, we focused on establishing control and
the sale of its UK-based retail bookmaking operations to
stability of the business including staff management and at the
William Hill plc for £504 million and made a cash return of an
same time pursuing a gradual re-investment programme.
aggregate amount of £327 million to its shareholders. The
cash return of £65.5 million to our Group was received in
The year has seen both a targeted refurbishment of the
September 2005.
Maxims Casino Club, London and a reinvigorated marketing
programme, underpinned by close liaison wherever possible
LCI is a reputable casino operator in the UK, with operations
with our brand partner Maxims Genting Highlands, Malaysia.
mainly in London. In addition, it has casino operations in
Egypt and South Africa. LCI has secured new casino licences
Maxims Casino Club, London offers 20 gaming tables
in Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Glasgow, Blackpool and London.
comprising seven Roulette, seven Blackjack, two Punto
Banco, two Casino Stud Poker and two Three Card Poker
tables. Four electronic roulette machines were installed in
November 2005 to provide Maxims club members the
opportunity to experience the modern and high technology of
electronic casino games.
We have an 8% interest in Frasers Town Hall Pty Ltd
(“Frasers”), which is a subsidiary of Centrepoint Properties
Our attention to controls in the highly regulated UK
Ltd, the property arm of Frasers and Neave Group. Frasers is
environment resulted in the successful renewal of our licence
developing the Regent Place, Australia’s first vertical modern
in October 2005 without any objection. We are in the process
village. Regent Place will consist of two elegant towers,
of introducing the Dynamic Reporting System to improve on
Lumière (a 56-level residential apartment tower) and Fraser
Maxims’ operational reporting and efficiency.
Suites (a residential service tower), both designed by the
internationally renowned Foster & Partners.
In the second half of the year under review, business
improved markedly both in terms of attendance and
performance, partly due to the measures described above
and also due to the efforts of our dedicated staff. These efforts
have enabled Maxims Casino Club, London to contribute
S$28.5 million in revenue and S$0.9 million in profit before tax
to the Group in 2005.
REGENT PLACE - A visionary residential
RETAIL AND OFFICE SUITES
landmark in Sydney,
Australia
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GENTING INTERNAT I O N A L P. L . C . Annual Report 2005
INTERNATIONAL SALES AND MARKETING SERVICES
Genting International is the exclusive international marketing
and sales co-coordinator of Genting Highlands Resort outside
Malaysia. Genting Highlands Resort is one of Asia’s leading
tourist destinations and the winner of the World’s and Asia’s
Best Casino Resort 2005 by World Travel Awards.
We have a network of international sales offices in various
countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
and India and have appointed preferred sales agents in
different jurisdictions such as China and Indonesia. We
market and refer high-end customers to Resorts World Bhd
(the operator of Genting Highlands Resort) through junket,
CRP and other gaming programmes.
eGENTING
We acquired the eGENTING group from Genting Berhad and
Resorts World Bhd in June 2005. eGENTING provides ITrelated services to the Genting Group and third parties with
emphasis on system design, maintenance, upgrade,
integration, support and management of IT application
services. eGENTING will provide Genting International the
During the year, revenue from international sales and
marketing services amounted to S$17.4 million (2004: S$14.1
million). Profit before tax was S$12.3 million (2004: S$11.0
million).
platform to expand its IT-related services and expertise to the
international gaming, hospitality and leisure markets.
In May 2005, eGENTING via its subsidiary Genting
Information Knowledge Enterprise Sdn Bhd was granted a 5-
The increase in revenue and profit from international sales
and marketing services was mainly due to higher number of
registered non-Malaysian hotel guests which our Group
brought to Genting Highlands Resort, as well as higher
amount of commissions earned from
IT APPLICATION RELATED SERVICES
gaming-related
marketing programmes in 2005. Genting Highlands Resort
recorded over 1.9 million non-Malaysian hotel guests in 2005,
an increase of 10% as compared to the previous year.
The final 1,000 rooms for First World Hotel, the world’s largest
hotel, were completed in December 2005. With this
completion, Genting Highlands Resort offers six hotels with
over 10,000 rooms as well as a myriad of endless and exciting
entertainment attractions - thus creating more scope for
Genting International to grow its sales and marketing revenue.
year extension of its Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)
Pioneer Status tax relief period. This enables the company to
enjoy a 100% tax exemption up to the year 2010. eGENTING
posted revenue of S$20.2 million (2004: S$16.3 million) and
profit before tax of S$3.5 million in 2005 (2004: S$2.1 million).
www.genting.com.my, powered and managed by eGENTING,
continues to be Malaysia’s highest grossing hospitality web
site. Online sales grew by 7% to S$6.2 million in 2005. Our
website was acknowledged as the most popular online
website in Singapore, when it topped and won the popularity
votes for the “Travel - Destination and Accommodation”
category of the Singapore Online Performance Awards 2005.
The award was organised by Hitwise, a leading internet usage
monitoring corporation.
Through our website, numerous online offers were actively
promoted in 2005, including the popular Buy Online & Win
campaigns which offered attractive monthly and quarterly
prize draws. In addition, the website provides the latest
product information, promotes convenience and flexibility for
online purchases of our leisure products.
First World Hotel - The world’s largest hotel.
www.genting.com.my - winner of the most popular website in
Singapore at the Singapore Online Performance Awards 2005.
GENTING INTERNAT I O N A L P. L . C . Annual Report 2005
The WorldReservations Centre (“WRC”) introduced room
In December 2005, eGENTING participated in the East Asia
bookings through Interactive Voice Response and Short
Business Exhibition 2005 - “Forging East Asian Business
Messaging Services to cater for the anticipated high volume of
Synergies”. This exhibition, held in conjunction with the
calls following the increase in the number of rooms at First
inaugural East Asia Summit and the 11th ASEAN Summit in
World Hotel Tower 2 in December 2005. Call volume rose by
Kuala Lumpur, enabled eGENTING to showcase its ICT
24% to 1.8 million calls in 2005. During the year, WRC
applications and services to trade commissioners from 15
handled an average of 4,000 calls a day.
countries, leading corporations in Asia and other business
delegates.
Business continuity is an important part of doing business.
During the year, eGENTING invested in Disaster Recovery
The sales and marketing teams of the WorldCard customer
(“DR”) facilities for its core systems. The DR facilities were
loyalty programme participated in various travel fairs,
successfully put to a live test in August 2005.
business exhibitions, carnivals and
recruitment
fairs
throughout the year to promote WorldCard to the public.
In September 2005, eGENTING implemented an integrated
These activities increased membership to nearly 2 million
and advanced casino marketing system to consolidate the
WorldCard members in 2005. WorldCard has over 270
existing multiple standalone systems in Genting Highlands
participating merchants, covering over 1,500 outlets in
Resort. The integrated platform streamlined the cashier desk
Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. In October 2005, the
operations and provided better services to our leisure VIP
inaugural WorldCard Forum was held for participating
guests.
merchants to be updated with the progress of the WorldCard
loyalty programme.
To maintain a high quality in system development and
implementation, eGENTING embarked on various quality
During the year, the self-service WorldCard kiosks in Genting
control initiatives in 2005. These included participating in the
Highlands Resort were enhanced to incorporate new features,
Quality Excellence for Software and Technology SMEs
such as voucher redemption, personalised message and
(QuESTS) programme, which was organised by the
conducting customer survey. The kiosks are placed at
Multimedia Development Corporation and implementing the
strategic locations for easy access and are popular with
International Standards of ISO9001: 2000 to obtain their
members who prefer the convenience of self-service.
respective certifications.
In December 2005, WorldCard entered into agreements with
eGENTING’s Siebel Customer Relationship Management
Smartcard Ventures Sdn Bhd and the Shopping Malaysia
enables real-time tracking of the campaign performance and
Secretariat under the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism to launch
resort-wide multi-channel customer feedback. During the
the “Shop Malaysia” card. This partnership card is targeted at
year, the Campaign Management module was implemented
the foreign tourists who enjoy the excellent shopping
for a closer monitoring of customer feedback and selected
experience in Malaysia.
processes have been automated to enhance marketing
efforts.
During the year, eGENTING extended the implementation of
Phase 1 of SAP R/3 system to Asiatic Development Bhd
(“Asiatic”) the Plantation Division of the Genting Group, with
the objective of sharing common IT processes and resources
for the companies under the Genting Group. Also under the
SAP initiative, the Group Central Purchasing was initiated in
2005 to share the procurement of common supply products
and services for the Genting Group.
The growing presence of WorldCard, our customer loyalty programme.
eGENTING team at work.
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GENTING INTERNAT I O N A L P. L . C . Annual Report 2005
Genting International IPO Launch & Roadshow in Singapore (2 to 8 December 2005)
GENTING INTERNATIONAL IPO
The Genting International Initial Public Offer (IPO) was
successfully launched in Singapore on 2 December
2005. We raised S$350 million in gross proceeds from
the issue of 1 billion new shares at the offer price of
S$0.35 per share, comprising 50 million new shares to
the public, 750 million new shares to the institutional and
other investors, 103.4 million new shares pursuant to an
over-allotment option and 96.6 million new shares to
strategic investors.
Token exchange to commemorate
the successful SGX listing of
Genting International.
The IPO closed on 8 December 2005 with very strong
demand from both the public and placement tranches.
The public offer tranche of 50 million shares was 13.8
times subscribed with a total of 22,065 applications, the
largest number of applications in 2005, recorded by a
non-REIT offering in Singapore. The placement tranche
was 7.8 times subscribed and attracted the interest of
more than 150 institutions globally. On 12 December
2005, Genting International was successfully listed on
the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), with
a market capitalisation of S$2 billion.
Hitting the symbolic gong to launch
the SGX listing.
Mr. Justin Tan and Mr. Hsieh Fu Hua (CEO of SGX) with key Senior Management Team from the
Genting Group at the listing of Genting International on the Main Board of SGX - 12 December 2005.
GENTING INTERNAT I O N A L P. L . C . Annual Report 2005
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
As a caring and socially responsible organisation, Genting
International is focused on contributing positively to the progressive
development of the nation and the welfare of its youth and
community.
During the year under review, our Group was a key sponsor for the
SGX Bull Run 2005, held in October 2005. Our contribution of
S$100,000 to the SGX Bull Run benefited nine welfare
organisations and charity home, namely Singapore Children’s
Society, Autism Association (Singapore) General Fund, Autism
Resource Centre (Singapore), Yellow Ribbon Fund, School Pocket
Money Fund, Community Chest, Society for the Physically Disable,
Viriya Community Services General Fund and Make-A-W ish
Foundation (Singapore) Ltd.
Among the community and financial aids provided by Genting
International in 2005 included the Singapore Anti-Narcotics
Association and the Boon Lay Welfare & Education Fund for the
needy, elderly and the young.
In November 2005, our Group supported the tourism-related
activities of Singapore by sponsoring S$250,000 for the world’s
Sponsoring the world’s tallest man-made Christmas Tree
at Mount Faber, Singapore
tallest artificial Christmas tree at Mount Faber. Standing at a
majestic height of 61 metres, the captivating lights from this
Christmas tree added to the unique attractions of Mount Faber.
Genting International advocates responsible gaming in its casinorelated operations. We are committed to promote responsible
attitudes towards gambling and to work for the provision of proper
care for those who have been harmed by gambling dependency.
Efforts include making information on responsible gaming available
through printed brochures and online channels through our
marketing websites as well as providing a helpline link via GamCare
at www.gamcare.co.uk. A registered UK-based charity, GamCare
provides information, advice and practical help in addressing the
social impact of gambling.
Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay with Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan,
Singapore’s Minister for Community Development,
Youth & Sport and key organising representatives
launching the official light-up of the world’s tallest
man-made Christmas Tree in Singapore
Genting International - participating in the charity-focused SGX Bull Run 2005.
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