Up to $200m Sentosa deals a year for SMEs
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SMALL businesses are poised to hit the first big jackpot at Genting International's casino resort on Sentosa.
The Malaysian company yesterday promised to set aside up to $200 million worth of deals every year for Singapore's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), from the time it starts building its $5.2 billion integrated resort next year, to opening the doors in 2010, and beyond.
Topping that, it said it would also rope in banks and General Electric (GE) - parent company of its partner Universal Studios - to help SMEs obtain loans to take on resort contracts.
The $200 million worth of contracts represents a 'significant' part of the 49ha resort's annual running expenses and the sum is expected to grow, the company said.
Sanitation, security, landscaping and maintenance are where SMEs can get a piece of the action, Genting said at a post-victory media conference at which top executives' wives also turned up to lend support.
Genting and its sister company Star Cruises beat Kerzner International and Eighth Wonder to clinch the project last Friday.
Genting's chief financial officer, Mr Tan Hee Teck, explained how it would help SMEs. For instance, if a small business were to land a laundry contract but had difficulty obtaining the financing for equipment, Genting could link the company to GE, which could provide a loan, and perhaps at better interest rates.
This initiative is Genting's way of 'supporting local SMEs and nurturing entrepreneurship', said chairman Lim Kok Thay.
The financial aid will alleviate the small business operator's cash flow woes, said Mr Lim. 'It removes a distraction for the SME and allows it to focus on delivering quality goods and services.'
Nine in 10 businesses here are SMEs, and they employ half of Singapore's workforce.
In the three years it will take to build and open Resorts World at Sentosa, Genting said it expects to create 22,000 jobs and add $3.9 billion to the economy.
Its first hirings will likely be engineers and construction personnel. Recruitment will pick up midway through the project, in 2008, and again six months before the resort's opening, said Mr Lim.
Genting said it expects to draw 15 million visitors a year, both tourists and locals, in 2010.
By 2015, it expects that half of the $30 billion national target for tourism receipts will have been made.
It has already sketched out plans to court its first visitors. For holidaymakers, it will offer cruise and land packages through its Star Cruises network. For European high rollers, it will exploit its recently acquired Stanley Leisure network in Britain, a chain with 45 casinos.
The Genting team is in a hurry to start construction so it can 'catch up' with Las Vegas Sands, which won the Marina Bay IR site six months ago.
Said Mr Lim: 'We are behind Marina Bay by a couple of months. Obviously, the Government would like to see the two projects finished on time, and to be not that far apart.'
Though the two resorts will inevitably compete for gamblers, Mr Lim is not ruling out a collaboration with Sands on other aspects. Sands is eyeing convention and exhibition visitors, while Genting hopes to lure 'incentive travel' groups, such as employees rewarded for work performance.
Genting's gesture was warmly received by the Association of SMEs (Asmes), which said the Malaysian company was the first among foreign investors to have made such a pledge.
Asmes president Lawrence Leow said: 'It's a good $200 million. They are not just giving you business, they are helping you with the financing. It's a very welcome gesture.'
Mr Leow added that the deals it has pledged could have been given to Malaysian companies, but by setting them aside for Singapore companies, Genting has signalled that it will be a 'responsible investor'.
Its move has earned it new fans, he said. 'I spoke to a few companies. Everybody feels that we have made a good choice.'
(Dec 12, Straits Times) -
CST said before... gotta work wi the M'sian... hmmm.... Malaysian Sentosa... er... Malaysian Singapore? It takes a Malaysian...
http://www.friendster.com/28511416 -
Don't forget where the money is going to come from.
Fool people that they have a chance to make money at the casino.
1. Design the games so that they think that they have a chance.
2. Design the games so that it becomes addictive.
3. Sell them a product that will only bring misery in the end.
4. Sell them a product that will waste their time and money uncontrollably.
5. Cause misery to their families.
6. Kill some of them. -
You dun want the money? There are plenty of jobless people who want the jobs. If Singaporeans don't want them, there is a line of foreigners who will fight for themOriginally posted by casino_king:Don't forget where the money is going to come from.
Fool people that they have a chance to make money at the casino.
1. Design the games so that they think that they have a chance.
2. Design the games so that it becomes addictive.
3. Sell them a product that will only bring misery in the end.
4. Sell them a product that will waste their time and money uncontrollably.
5. Cause misery to their families.
6. Kill some of them.
-
Thus the words of an emotionless scholar..Originally posted by oxford mushroom:You dun want the money? There are plenty of jobless people who want the jobs. If Singaporeans don't want them, there is a line of foreigners who will fight for them
Really when will you really realise what this will do...
when things go from bad to worse?
Then the Government Times will spell...
"CASINO BRINGS IN $___BILLION PROFIT"
But they somehow fail or forget to put in
"SUICIDE CASES ROSE BY 50%"
or
"DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES AT A RECORD HIGH"
Our government lost money through their own gambles...aka suzhou and shin...
They want us to do the same?...
Ah well...A scholar will always follow the book.. -
Suicide, this is how what it looks like:Originally posted by oxford mushroom:You dun want the money? There are plenty of jobless people who want the jobs. If Singaporeans don't want them, there is a line of foreigners who will fight for them 
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Look , I don't know why u even bother talking to some Singaporean who resides in UK and calls all the policies made in Singapore good when he is not around to see its impact in the first place.Originally posted by Wakus:Thus the words of an emotionless scholar..
Really when will you really realise what this will do...
when things go from bad to worse?
Then the Government Times will spell...
"CASINO BRINGS IN $___BILLION PROFIT"
But they somehow fail or forget to put in
"SUICIDE CASES ROSE BY 50%"
or
"DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES AT A RECORD HIGH"
Our government lost money through their own gambles...aka suzhou and shin...
They want us to do the same?...
Ah well...A scholar will always follow the book..
I think the real message from him is to migrate
and be elsewhere like him. -
i didnt know that the govt must be held responsible for one's weak character... wats next? blame the govt because i cant get a one night stand every other night?Originally posted by Wakus:Thus the words of an emotionless scholar..
Really when will you really realise what this will do...
when things go from bad to worse?
Then the Government Times will spell...
"CASINO BRINGS IN $___BILLION PROFIT"
But they somehow fail or forget to put in
"SUICIDE CASES ROSE BY 50%"
or
"DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES AT A RECORD HIGH"
Our government lost money through their own gambles...aka suzhou and shin...
They want us to do the same?...
Ah well...A scholar will always follow the book.. -
Nobody is forcing you to gamble. You can either lose all your money at the casino or earn a good living from the casino to feed your family. It's your choice..
Don't blame others if you lack self-control. -
Yeah...I know...and i agree that its a good place to get a job...Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Nobody is forcing you to gamble. You can either lose all your money at the casino or earn a good living from the casino to feed your family. It's your choice..
Don't blame others if you lack self-control.
But realy gambling as a form of income doesn't really strike the right chord with some singaporeans, whether directly or indirectly....
You may say its personal, but knowing i live in a country where an influx of income is from people splurging money just gambling, just doesn't sit in well...
You're in the UK, so you don't really know...
But here the heartlanders receive it 2 way...
One is with optimism...
Which has its own valid reasons too
but i'm really cautious about these developments...
Yeah money will start rolling in....
but how sure is it that it can improve the livelihood of singaporeans who are struggling to survive day to day as of now...i dunno... -
Your opinion does not count when Medical research says otherwise.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Nobody is forcing you to gamble. You can either lose all your money at the casino or earn a good living from the casino to feed your family. It's your choice..
Don't blame others if you lack self-control.
Is the Casino Harmful? -
you mean current pseudo science..loads of hogwash..Originally posted by onceinabluemoon: