GentingHK

GentingHK +11.7% to new 52-week high of US$0.335 on strong volume as players turn attention from sister company Genting Spore to cruise/casino operator, banking that its 50% stake in Resorts World Manila may enjoy the same success as Resorts World Sentosa. For 1H10, RWM contributed US$10.2m to GentingHK’s pretax profits, reversing from a US$2.6m loss in 2H09. RWM’s average daily win of US$1m is well below RWS’s US$6.8m in 2Q10.

Since RWM's entry in mid 2009, the overall Philippines gaming market has more than doubled year to date. This is another example showing that the casino scene needs critical mass to draw punters & enlarge the gaming pie instead of cannibalising the existing pie. Expects RWM to benefit from Philippine casino regulator's recent move to stop granting new gaming licences to private operators, shut down smaller gaming parlors & poker clubs in non-tourist areas.