Casino and cruise operator Genting Hong Kong Limited has reportedly announced that it has received permission to voluntarily de-list its shares from Singapore’s stock exchange after going some six years without raising funds in the former British enclave.
According to a report from The Straits Times newspaper, Genting Hong Kong Limited is to retain its primary listing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and has agreed to pay the transfer fees of any investor who may wish to switch their Singapore holdings to this bourse?within?three months after the de-listing becomes official.
The Hong Kong-based firm, which was formerly known as Star Cruises Limited, opened?its secondary listing in Singapore three years ago and reportedly declared that the de-listing was part of a plan to partially shift focus to its cruise ship business in northeast Asia as it continues to ‘undertake initiatives to tap the burgeoning growth potential in the Chinese market’.
A subsidiary of giant Malaysian firm Genting Group, Genting Hong Kong Limited is responsible for the Crystal Cruises, Dream Cruises and Star Cruises brands and also partnered with Manila-based Alliance Global Group Incorporated in 2013 to establish Travellers International Hotel Group Incorporated, which operates the Resorts World Manila integrated casino resort in the Philippines.
The Straits Times reported that Genting Hong Kong Limited currently has a market capitalization of around $2.12 billion and that the de-listing is not expected to impact current shareholders’ voting rights or dividend entitlements.
In an official announcement, Lim Kok Thay, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Genting Hong Kong Limited, declared that the decision to apply for a de-listing in Singapore had been taken ‘after careful consideration’ and was ‘is in line with our growth strategy and plans to enhance value for all our shareholders in the long term’.
“Maintaining a single primary listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will potentially increase the trading of the company’s shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which will enhance the company’s profile amongst north Asian investors,” said Lim.
The 66-year-old businessman declared that the eventual de-listing would additionally ‘increase the liquidity of such shares’ on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and improve ‘the effectiveness of any future capital raising activities to be undertaken by the company’.