KUALA LUMPUR: Affin Hwang Research has maintained its Buy call on Genting Bhd
with an unchanged target price of RM11.90 and has made no changes to its earnings forecasts.
Given the potential market sizes, there is still opportunity for gaming in Japan and Korea despite some setbacks, it said in a note on Wednesday.
"With a warchest of S$3bn, we expect management to remain committed to securing new gaming opportunities," it said.
The research house said Genting Singapore’s (GENS) 9M14 results were within its expectations. While GENS’ results were unexciting, management remains upbeat on its potential overseas ventures and expects to see more positive news in 2015.
"We think consensus has yet to fully reflect the slowdown in arrivals from China in the VIP segment," it added.
While the outlook on the VIP segment remains uncertain in the short term, Affin Hwang said Genting noted that the mass market continues to see sequential growth.
Recent media reports indicate that progress on Japan’s casino bill has hit a snag, but management remains optimistic that the bill will go through in mid-2015.
"On a brighter note, we gather that its US$2.2bil casino resort JV with Landing International Development in Jeju could possibly see the light of day in 1H15.
"Management had been in active engagement with the new local governor in Jeju and agreed to scale down the scope of the casino resort via a new submission last month that has been met with a positive response," it added.
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