Singapore’s first casino-resort partially opened yesterday, a key part of a government plan to reduce reliance on manufacturing and brand the tightly controlled city-state as a cosmopolitan Asian capital.
Resorts World Sentosa, built by Malaysia’s Genting Berhad for S$6.6 billion (US$5 billion), opened 1,340 rooms in four hotels, including a Hard Rock hotel and a property designed by architect Michael Graves. Its 7,300-seat ballroom, one of Asia’s largest, will host its first event at the end of this month.
A Universal Studios theme park is expected to open in the coming weeks on the sprawling 49-hectare complex on Sentosa, an island off Singapore’s coast. No firm date has been set, said Genting chairman Lim Kok Thay (林國泰), contradicting reports it would open next week.
The resort’s casino, the city-state’s first, is expected to open in March after Genting’s application for a license was delayed to last month from October when gambling authorities asked for more information. Officials have said it will probably take three months to process the license.
Singapore — known for its ban on chewing gum sales and canings for crimes some countries would rule as minor — strictly controls public speech and assembly, though has become socially more liberal and allowed greater artistic freedom in recent years. The decision to allow casinos followed a national debate, though the government’s desired outcome was never in doubt.
The government expects Resorts World — along with the expected May opening of the Marina Bay Sands casino-resort — to increase the country’s GDP growth by up to 1 percentage point, boost tourist arrivals and add 35,000 jobs.
With a well-educated population that speaks English, Chinese and Malay, Singapore is increasingly focusing on finance and tourism, DBS Bank economist Irvin Seah said.
“Services are really a green pasture going forward for Singapore,” he said. “It’s the area which we really want to fully exploit and it’s where we have a comparative advantage in the region.”
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