The Macau Metro Monitor, July 13, 2012
SINGAPORE GDP UNEXPECTEDLY CONTRACTS IN 2Q WSJ
According to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore 2Q GDP unexpectedly contracted mainly due to a sequential contraction in the manufacturing sector. 2Q GDP fell 1.1% QoQ on a seasonally adjusted and annualized basis, missing estimates of 0.8% growth. On a YoY basis, 2Q GDP grew 1.9%, missing consensus of +2.4%.
PACKAGE TOURS AND HOTEL OCCUPANCY RATE FOR MAY 2012 DSEC
Visitor arrivals in package tours increased by 11.7% YoY to 669,460 in May 2012. Visitors from Mainland China (465,923) went up by 4.9%, with 166,292 coming from Guangdong Province; Taiwan (52,839), Hong Kong (33,485), and the Republic of Korea (24,941) increased by 63.2%, 28.0% and 18.5% respectively.
There were 24,117 guest rooms available at the 97 hotels and guest-houses at end-May 2012, an increase of 2,599 rooms (+12.1%) YoY, with those of the 5-star hotels accounting for 61.1% of the total. The average length of stay decreased by 0.11 night to 1.4 nights.
GOKNOGWEI IN TALKS TO JOIN OKADA FOR VEGAS STYLE, $2BN CASINO BY BAY Philippine Daily Inquirer
Filipino billionaire, John Gokongwei Jr., is reportedly in talks to join Kazuo Okada in the development of his Manila Bay Casino project. According to sources, Gokongwei’s property arm, Robinson Land Corp., has offered to run the gaming and retail operations of Okada’s Tiger Resorts project, worth $2 billion, in Entertainment City, a 100-hectare property on the edge of Manila Bay. Gokongwei, who owns a shopping mall chain, hotel resorts and the country’s biggest budget airline, Cebu Pacific, would be joined in the project by another Filipino billionaire, Andrew Tan, whose property group would handle the land development side of Okada’s casino project.
MGM CHINA LOOKING FOR HK$12 BILLION LOAN Reuters
MGM China Holdings is seeking a HK$12-billion (US$1.55 billion) refinancing loan.
