SMALL businesses are poised to hit the first big jackpot at
Genting International's casino resort on Sentosa.
The Malaysian company yesterday promised to set aside up to $200
million worth of deals every year for Singapore's small- and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), from the time it starts building
its $5.2 billion integrated resort next year, to opening the doors
in 2010, and beyond.
Topping that, it said it would also rope in banks and General
Electric (GE) - parent company of its partner Universal Studios -
to help SMEs obtain loans to take on resort contracts.
The $200 million worth of contracts represents a 'significant' part
of the 49ha resort's annual running expenses and the sum is
expected to grow, the company said.
Sanitation, security, landscaping and maintenance are where SMEs
can get a piece of the action, Genting said at a post-victory media
conference at which top executives' wives also turned up to lend
support.
Genting and its sister company Star Cruises beat Kerzner
International and Eighth Wonder to clinch the project last
Friday.
Genting's chief financial officer, Mr Tan Hee Teck, explained how
it would help SMEs. For instance, if a small business were to land
a laundry contract but had difficulty obtaining the financing for
equipment, Genting could link the company to GE, which could
provide a loan, and perhaps at better interest rates.
This initiative is Genting's way of 'supporting local SMEs and
nurturing entrepreneurship', said chairman Lim Kok Thay.
The financial aid will alleviate the small business operator's cash
flow woes, said Mr Lim. 'It removes a distraction for the SME and
allows it to focus on delivering quality goods and services.'
Nine in 10 businesses here are SMEs, and they employ half of
Singapore's workforce.
In the three years it will take to build and open Resorts World at
Sentosa, Genting said it expects to create 22,000 jobs and add $3.9
billion to the economy.
Its first hirings will likely be engineers and construction
personnel. Recruitment will pick up midway through the project, in
2008, and again six months before the resort's opening, said Mr
Lim.
Genting said it expects to draw 15 million visitors a year, both
tourists and locals, in 2010.
By 2015, it expects that half of the $30 billion national target
for tourism receipts will have been made.
It has already sketched out plans to court its first visitors. For
holidaymakers, it will offer cruise and land packages through its
Star Cruises network. For European high rollers, it will exploit
its recently acquired Stanley Leisure network in Britain, a chain
with 45 casinos.
The Genting team is in a hurry to start construction so it can
'catch up' with Las Vegas Sands, which won the Marina Bay IR site
six months ago.
Said Mr Lim: 'We are behind Marina Bay by a couple of months.
Obviously, the Government would like to see the two projects
finished on time, and to be not that far apart.'
Though the two resorts will inevitably compete for gamblers, Mr Lim
is not ruling out a collaboration with Sands on other aspects.
Sands is eyeing convention and exhibition visitors, while Genting
hopes to lure 'incentive travel' groups, such as employees rewarded
for work performance.
Genting's gesture was warmly received by the Association of SMEs
(Asmes), which said the Malaysian company was the first among
foreign investors to have made such a pledge.
Asmes president Lawrence Leow said: 'It's a good $200 million. They
are not just giving you business, they are helping you with the
financing. It's a very welcome gesture.'
Mr Leow added that the deals it has pledged could have been given
to Malaysian companies, but by setting them aside for Singapore
companies, Genting has signalled that it will be a 'responsible
investor'.
Its move has earned it new fans, he said. 'I spoke to a few
companies. Everybody feels that we have made a good choice.'
(Dec 12, Straits Times)
