Inter-state travel to boost Genting

KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s move to allow inter-state travel effective on Monday will benefit the Genting group as the gaming crowd is expected to swell at Genting Highlands, UOB Kay Hian Malaysia Research says.

In its research note, it said this was despite news over the weekend that some outlets in Genting Highlands had to be closed and sanitised over Covid-19 infection case.

“Anecdotal evidence also suggests that shoppers are gradually returning to shopping malls of late. We expect footfall to soon recover to the levels during the recovery movement control order (RMCO) stage, when shopping malls under our coverage experienced an uptick in footfall traffic of up to 80% or pre-Movement Control Oder levels, ” it said.

UOB Kay Hian Research said it expects a positive share price reaction from Genting Malaysia where it has a Buy call and target price of RM3.40 and retail REITs like Pavilion REIT (Hold, Target: RM1.45 under review).

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings’ downgrade will not significantly dampen the positive sentiment on equities, although economists are also keenly watching S&P’s assessment (S&P also has Malaysia on negative outlook).

Last Friday, Fitch downgraded Malaysia’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) to BBB+ from A-.

At noon, Genting Malaysia shed one sen to RM2.55 but Genting rose eight sen to RM4.31.