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Malaysian government denies reports that county is considering opening casino near Singapore

The Malaysian government has rejected reports that the country is considering building a casino resort near Singapore.

Forest town in Malaysia. The Malaysian government has denied reports that it is considering...
Forest town in Malaysia. The Malaysian government has denied reports that it is considering approving a second casino in the south of the country near Singapore.

Malaysian government denies reports that county is considering opening casino near Singapore

The Malaysian government has been quick to respond to a Bloomberg report suggesting that the Southeast Asian country is considering building a casino resort near Singapore.

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met two of the country's richest men - Genting Group casino billionaire Lim Kok Thay and Berjaya Corp lottery billionaire Vincent Tan - last week. . The trio reportedly discussed developing an integrated casino resort in Forest City, an unfinished $100 billion special economic zone partly controlled by the Malaysian government and King Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor state.

wrong. This is a lie," Anwar said while addressing reporters at an event in Putrajaya on Thursday about the alleged casino discussions. The prime minister made an "X" gesture with his arm while denying Bloomberg's report.

Forest City is a one-square-mile mixed-use development located on reclaimed land in the southern tip of Malaysia, bordering Singapore. The $100 billion program was launched in 2016 by a Chinese consortium. King Ibrahim, a billionaire in his own right, owns more than 20% of the development.

Lim's Genting holds Malaysia's only casino license at the company's Genting Highlands Resort in Pahang. Genting also owns and operates Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.

Economic Challenges

Forest City developers have built numerous high-end apartment and residential towers, as well as hotels, retail space and office buildings. These incentives are mainly tailored for wealthy Chinese who want to invest their assets overseas under a more favorable tax environment.

Sales were weak for a number of reasons and Forest City became a ghost town.

The political crisis in Malaysia from 2020 to 2022 led to numerous politicians changing parties and throwing government control into disarray, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic slowing sales and interest from Chinese buyers. China's subsequent crackdown on Chinese seeking to reduce their tax obligations through overseas investments has only exacerbated the problem.

China has also banned VIP tour groups from operating in Macau, the casino hub where most of mainland China's high rollers gambled before the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese President Xi Jinping said the massive outflow of funds through the Macau tax haven posed a risk to national security.

Lifeline of Forest City

As the Macau market continues to change, with wealthy gamblers from across Asia looking for new gambling destinations, the Genting Casino being built in Forest City could reignite interest in the economic zone.

Genting Highlands relies almost entirely on foreigners because Islam, Malaysia's main religion, prohibits gambling among its followers. Lim's father, Lim Goh Tong, secured Malaysia's only casino franchise in 1969.

Genting has grown into one of the largest gaming companies in the world. In addition to Malaysia and Singapore, Genting also owns integrated casino resorts in New York, Las Vegas, the Philippines, the Bahamas and the United Kingdom.

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Source: www.casino.org