SINGAPORE – Las Vegas Sands and Genting Singapore have pledged to invest S$9 billion (US$6.7 billion) in tourist attractions in Singapore, which extended their exclusive licenses to operate casinos until 2030.
The moves come with Singapore attracting record tourist numbers even as its pace of hotel expansion slows. In part boosted by the hit movie “Crazy Rich Asians” and the hosting of a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, visitor arrivals in the city-state last year jumped 6.2 percent to 18.5 million, data from the Singapore Tourism Board show. Receipts increased 1 percent to S$27.1 billion.
Las Vegas Sands’ Singapore venture will build a fourth tower to its Marina Bay Sands resort and construct a new entertainment arena, while Genting’s Resorts World Sentosa will build two new theme zones and enlarge its aquarium, according to a statement from the Ministry of Trade and Industry and other government agencies this week. The additional investments by both are almost two-thirds of their initial investment in 2006 of about S$15 billion, the ministry said.
