
Macao has emerged as the gaming and entertainment hotspot of China, and already
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (
LVS) and
General Electric Company (NYSE:
GE)'s Universal Studios is looking for more fresh meat. They think they've found it in Singapore, and the grand
Resorts World at Sentosa.
The Resorts World is a
cooperative venture of Genting Int'l
(75% stake) and Star Cruises (25%). The 120-acre, $5.2 billion development will include casinos, a
Universal Studios theme park, hotels, a marine park, and other resort entertainments. Las Vegas Sands is constructing the
Marine Bay Sands, investing over $3 billion in the facility. Early projections point to a 2009-2010 time frame for its opening.
Universal has promised to not build any other parks in SE Asia for 30 years as part of its agreement to build a $1 billion theme park.
All these grand plans, however, rest on successful completion of the infrastructure by Genting
RWS owners, and they are
just now reaching the point where final total costs can be estimated. If the
partners have developer has to reach deeper for additional cash, investors in LVS and GE may become a bit nervous about the amount of money these companies have already thrown in the pot.