Genting Singapore Plc had its share-price forecast raised to S$3 from S$2 at CLSA Asia Pacific Marke

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Genting Singapore Plc had its share-price forecast raised to S$3 from S$2 at CLSA Asia Pacific Markets, which said the casino operator’s earnings growth will remain strong.

Genting, operator of one of two casino resorts in the city- state, climbed 1.1 per cent to S$1.85 at 9:10 am in Singapore, heading for another record close.

CLSA maintained its “buy” rating on the stock. -- Bloomberg

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Genting S'pore shares soar 8.7% to $1.99
Strong gains come amid upbeat calls raising price target

By GRACE LEONG

SHARES of Genting Singapore continued to post strong gains yesterday, unfazed by government measures over the past week to alleviate concerns about social gambling problems, with at least one analyst raising the mainboard-listed casino operator's target price to a new high of $3 a share.

Genting Singapore shares jumped 8.74 per cent, or 16 cents, to close yesterday's trading session at $1.99. More than 204 million shares changed hands.
In a report released yesterday, CLSA Asia-Pacific maintained a 'buy' call on Genting Singapore, citing high casino revenue growth potential as the two integrated resorts (IRs) have yet to ramp up and as demand from both the local and tourist markets remains robust.
Aaron Fischer, a Hong Kong-based gaming analyst with CLSA Asia-Pacific, raised estimates for the overall gaming market size in Singapore to US$6 billion in 2011 - which he said is similar to the size of the Las Vegas Strip - up from previous estimates of US$5.1 billion.
'Resorts World's Q2 performance was not an anomaly. Even after adjusting for normalised hold rates at both properties, annualised market revenue achieved would be US$4 billion, already 2/3rd of Las Vegas, and both properties have not even fully ramped up,' Mr Fischer said.
While Resorts World didn't provide much detail, Mr Fischer said the company indicated that players from China are among the top gaming contributors, citing anecdotal reports that some Chinese players lost as much as 20 million yuan (S$4 million) in a day.
The CLSA report said the overseas visitors segment has ramped up quickly especially from Malaysia, sustained by high income growth, and that a large majority of tourists are waiting for the two IRs to be completed before booking trips.
While Macau can tap China's huge market, Singapore has Malaysia and Indonesia, both of which are main sources of visitor arrivals and tourist receipts. The report said Resorts World's efforts to link up with various tour agencies in smaller Malaysian towns has helped generate more traffic to the resort.
Upon completion of an escalator connecting Resorts World to VivoCity, via the promenade area, traffic to the resort is expected to improve, Mr Fischer said.
Mr Fischer also downplayed the $100 levy on Singaporeans as a 'light obstacle' in the light of the fact that tables with minimum bets of $50-$100 were the most active at both IRs and given the high number of Singaporeans currently travelling to Genting Highlands in Malaysia or boarding cruise ships to gamble.
But potentially clouding CLSA's rosy view is what Mr Fischer calls 'government backlash given the strong locals market' despite a 'growing recognition of the positive benefits of legalised casinos'.
Case in point is the government response to ban free shuttle services to the IRs following calls by Members of Parliament who voiced fears that such services made it easy for heartlanders to gamble.
The free shuttle services provided by Resorts World since June were available at several HDB town centres including Bishan, Ang Mo Kio, Tiong Bahru, Jurong East, Tampines, Bedok, Bukit Merah, Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang.
Resorts World was going to suspend those services on Sunday following a probe by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports over concerns about rising problem gambling. But free shuttle services by both Resorts World and Marina Bay Sands were stopped on Friday following directives issued by Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority.
Marina Bay Sands, which said it never offered free shuttle buses to housing estates in the heartlands, voluntarily suspended on Friday its licensed paid bus routes serving Orchard Road and the CBD/Chinatown area as well as free shuttles that serviced certain hotels. But its free shuttle service for hotel guests heading to and from Changi airport remains in service.
Still, Resorts World is expected to seize a bigger market share in Singapore because of expectations of better operating performance as more tables and slots are added and as Universal Studios ramps up, and that the casino operator will be 'a more aggressive payer of rebates going forward assuming the absence of junket operators', the CLSA report said.
At least two other analysts downplayed the business impact of the free shuttle services' suspension, citing uncertainty over whether the ban is permanent and that accessibility to the resorts from other parts of Singapore was easy and unlikely to deter determined gamblers.
'But if programmes like that are allowed in Malaysia, then it would be more noticeable because of the length of travel and costs involved,' said Vincent Khoo, head of research at UOB Kay Hian. 'I think the free shuttle services benefit a lot of non-gamers but with respect to the players themselves, I don't think a disproportionate number of them would rely on the buses.'
Mark Strawn, vice-president of research at Morgan Stanley in New York, believes the larger issue is the Singapore government's willingness to intervene in the operation of the casinos to protect the local population.
But he said he 'deemed more meaningful intervention in the future unlikely, as the most substantial regulations (tax rates, licences) are explicit in the Casino Control Act, and casino visitation remains predominantly foreign'.

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* Index up at midday, limited upside seen after break
* Yangzijiang, Cosco rise on positive shipping outlook
* Genting up after DBS raised target price to S$2.36
By Eveline Danubrata
SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Singapore shares rose on Wednesday, lifted by positive sentiments after Japan intervened to lower the value of the yen. But analysts see little upside after the midday break.
The Straits Times Index (STI) .FTSTI was 14.37 points higher, up 0.47 percent, at 3,063.02. More than 136 million shares had changed hands.
"The Bank of Japan intervention happened after the U.S. market was closed, so that is what is driving the market right now," said Tey Tze Ming, a market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets.
Japan intervened in foreign exchange markets for the first time in six years on Wednesday to stem economic damage from the surging yen, pushing its currency 2 percent lower and boosting Tokyo stocks. [ID:nSGE68E03O]
Tey said that the STI and may be capped at around 3,065 points as some of the constituent stocks looked overbought according to their relative strength index or RSI, a technical indicator used to predict the short-term direction in a stock or index.
Shares of ship builder Yangzijiang (YAZG.SI) and shipping firm Cosco Corp (COSC.SI) rose as much 5.4 and 4.3 percent, respectively, after a positive analyst report and bullish comments by Cosco's chief. [ID:nSGE68E03V]
At midday, Yangzijiang shares were trading at S$1.74 with more than 51 million shares changing hands. Cosco shares were trading at S$1.68 with a volume of 35 million shares.
Shares of casino operator Genting Singapore rose as much as 2.6 percent after DBS Vickers raised its target price to S$2.36 from S$2, citing the success of Singapore's two integrated resorts.
Genting shares were last traded at S$1.95 with more than 45 million shares had changed hands.

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Singapore Hot Stocks-Genting up on short-covering, OCBC upgrade

<CITE>Reuters - <ABBR class=timedate title="Friday, October 1">Friday, October 1</ABBR></CITE>

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SINGAPORE, Oct 1 - Shares of casino operator Genting Singapore <GENS.SI> rose as much as 5.9 percent on Friday as investors bought the stock to cover their "short" positions and a local brokerage raised its target price.
At 0335 GMT, shares of Genting Singapore were trading at S$1.94 on a volume of 127 million shares.
"I think the selling was overdone for this week," said a local trader.
Based on Thursday's closing price of S$1.86, Genting shares have fallen 7.5 percent since the start of the week.
OCBC Investment Research on Friday raised its target price for Genting Singapore to S$2.38 from S$1.85 and maintained its "buy" rating. [ID:nSGE69000I]