Genting Singapore investors unfazed by Beijing’s warning to its citizens to stay away from gambling

SHARES of integrated resort operator Genting Singapore barely shifted hours after the Chinese government issued a public reminder on WeChat for Chinese citizens to “stay away from gambling”.

In a public notice posted on its account on the Tencent-owned app at 10.54 am on Monday (Mar 18), the Chinese embassy in Singapore reminded its nationals that if they take part in cross-border gambling, they are breaking China’s laws and will be held accountable – even if the casinos in the Republic are legal operations.

The notice also encouraged those with information on Chinese citizens indulging in cross-border online gambling to report these individuals to the Chinese government.

“Cross-border gambling could bring risks such as fraud, money laundering, kidnapping, detention, trafficking and smuggling,” said the embassy.

Singapore has two casinos – one is in the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort and the other is in Resorts World Sentosa, a wholly owned subsidary of Genting Singapore.

The post had garnered about 12,000 views by mid-afternoon on Monday.

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At that time, the shares of Genting Singapore had dipped only a marginal S$0.005 or 0.6 per cent to S$0.88.

Earlier, the counter had mainly traded range-bound between this level and S$0.895, which represented an increase of S$0.01 or 1.1 per cent.

At the close of trading on Monday, Genting Singapore shares were down S$0.005 or 0.6 per cent to S$0.88.

Genting Singapore in February posted a 31 per cent rise in net profit to S$334.9 million for the second half of FY2023, from S$255.7 million in the previous corresponding period.

Its strong bottom-line performance was attributed mainly to a significant post-pandemic recovery of Genting Singapore’s businesses across the board.

Revenue for the half-year rose 26 per cent year on year to S$1.3 billion, driven by a 19 per cent surge in gaming revenue to S$900.6 million.

In its Feb 22 results filing, the group noted that gaming revenue growth for the fourth quarter was “very respectable”.

The group’s net profit for the full year ended December 2023 was up 79.8 per cent to S$611.6 million. Revenue was up 40.1 per cent to S$2.4 billion; gaming revenue contributed S$1.65 billion after having risen 34 per cent on the year.