KUALA LUMPUR (June 20): Despite announcing RM4.94 billion in energy ventures in a single day, Genting Bhd's (KL: GENTING)president and chief operating officer Datuk Seri Tan Kong Han assured that these investments do not signal a shift away from the company’s core gaming business, which has been its mainstay for over 50 years.

“We are not out of the gaming business,” Tan emphasised during a rare press conference after unveiling Genting’s plans to acquire a 49% equity interest in China’s SDIC Jineng (ZhouShan) Gas Power Generation Co Ltd for RM64.87 million and awarding a US$1 billion (RM4.71 billion) contract to China’s Wison New Energies Co Ltd for constructing a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility at Teluk Bintuni, West Papua in Indonesia.

Additionally, Genting estimates that a further pro-rata equity investment of 328 million yuan (RM212.8 million) in SDIC Jineng will be required up to target commercial operation next year.

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Tan explained that while the energy division is currently a “small fraction” of Genting's total business, these investments aim to strengthen the group's presence in the sector. “... the energy sector is also a very important sector for us. We have decided that we will now grow it. We are taking bold steps to actually go forward in this particular industry,” he said.

For context, last year, the group's energy business contributed about US$365.7 million in revenue, compared to the US$4.9 billion generated by its leisure and hospitality business. Tan noted that competitive gas prices could potentially boost energy revenue by up to US$1.3 billion. “That is why we spend a lot of time and energy in this particular space [energy division],” he added.

Genting posted an annual net profit of RM929.2 million - after three years of losses - against a net loss of RM299.91 million in FY2022, on the back of higher revenue from its leisure and hospitality division. Annual revenue expanded 21.15% to RM27.12 billion from RM22.39 billion a year ago. 

Genting's chairman and chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay highlighted that the energy investment is part of the company's long-term business strategy. “When it comes to the expansion or diversification of our business, away from gaming, we [work] very quietly and hard to make sure that we prove it. So in this case, as you notice - the energy business itself has been transformed,” Lim said.

However, Lim reiterated that Genting's core business remains firmly rooted in gaming, a sector in which the company has made its mark over the past five decades. “To still be sitting here in this room with you [the press] and to talk about the expanded footprint of that [energy] sector of the business… I think it is clear and it is very rare that we try to explain our long-term strategy [to the press],” Lim explained.

Genting’s 49.3% subsidiary, Genting Malaysia Bhd (KL:GENM), operates Malaysia's only casino in Genting Highlands, Pahang. Additionally, GenM owns and operates Resorts World properties in Las Vegas and New York in the US, Birmingham in the UK, and the Bahamas. 

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