Genting Malaysia’s outdoor theme park (OTP) at Resorts World Genting (RWG) may open sooner than expected, according to Maybank Investment Bank Bhd.
Maybank IB believes the theme park could start operating in the first or second quarter of 2020. Genting Malaysia initially said the opening was scheduled for 2021.
“We gather that Resorts World Genting could be opening its outdoor theme park a lot earlier than we expected,” Maybank IB wrote in a report (via The Edge Markets).
“Our earnings estimates are unchanged but we remove the 10% discount we previously ascribed to our sum-of-parts (SOP)-based valuation on added certainty that the OTP will finally open.”
Genting Malaysia Bhd shares were as high as RM3.73 after Maybank IB upgraded the casino operator from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’.
‘Opening a lot earlier than we expected’
In its report, Maybank IB also said RWG has taken out full-page job advertisements for its theme park division, with the theme park “95% completed”.
Maybank IB wrote: “While we understand that this division oversees both Skytropolis indoor theme park and the OTP, Skytropolis has been open since December 2018.
“This suggests to us that the OTP, currently the subject of an $1 billion lawsuit between Genting Malaysia and Fox/Disney, could be ready to open soon. We understand that construction of the OTP was around 95% completed as at July 2019.”
Earlier this year, Fox made a counter claim against Genting Malaysia Bhd for $46.4 million in an ongoing case surrounding the once Fox-branded attraction.
OTP around 95% completed as of July 2019
Genting Malaysia Bhd first filed a complaint against Fox after spending $750 million developing the Twentieth Century Fox World theme park. Genting signed a licensing deal with Fox in 2013.
Meanwhile, Genting Cruise Lines is investing to take its Dream Cruises ships beyond Asia. Two new ships are joining the fleet from 2021, and the company will position them in locations such as Australia, New Zealand, and Alaska.
Images: Genting/Fox
