Global Gaming Industry In Its Infancy: Adelson

Source : The Business Times, September 13, 2007

More than gambling: Mr Adelson (left) receiving the Lifetime Achievement award from Mr Forbes yesterday

THE gaming industry worldwide is 'still in its infancy' with a lot of room for growth, Las Vegas Sands Corp chairman and chief executive Sheldon Adelson said yesterday.

'Gaming has evolved from gambling dens into Disneylands for adults,' he told chief executives on the last day of the Forbes Global CEO Conference.

According to him, Asia has room for about 10 scaled-down versions of Las Vegas. 'I think the world is recognising that gaming is more than just gambling,' he said. 'It's one of the many elements of entertainment that adults want to enjoy.'

Las Vegas Sands won the licence to build and operate Singapore's Marina Bay integrated resort last year, beating three other contenders.

Yesterday, Mr Adelson was awarded the Malcolm S Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award by Forbes president and CEO Steve Forbes, who said he had revolutionised the gaming industry. Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing was the first recipient of the award last year.

The gaming industry 'has evolved to the point where at The Venetian hotel-casino (in Las Vegas)... the casino represents only one per cent of the total amount of space in the building,' Mr Adelson said.

At the US$2.4 billion Venetian Macao, which opened last month in Macau, the casino takes up just 5 per cent of the total 10.5 million sq ft of space, he said. The rest is allocated to shopping, indoor sports and other activities.

Casinos used to be wall-to-wall, said Mr Adelson. They were gambling dens with no amenities. But Singapore's Marina Bay resort will integrate 'all the elements of entertainment.'

The Las Vegas Sands boss was ranked sixth on this year's Forbes billionaires list, with an estimated net wealth of US$26.5 billion.

Last month, the company's chief operating officer William Weidner said the Marina Bay resort, which is slated to open in late-2009, is now expected to cost up to 40 per cent more than projected. The cost was previously estimated at $5.05 billion, including $1.3 billion for the land.

Asked by an audience member yesterday why Sands chose Singapore to build a resort, Mr Adelson said: 'This will be a duopoly, and any place we can have a duopoly will be a very profitable but very high investment.

'We will have more space in our integrated resort than rooms like this in the top 30 or 40 hotels in Singapore combined. So we'll be able to see some 30,000 people simultaneously, which will attract the biggest meetings on Earth, which is primarily what the government wants.'

DBS' Islamic Unit Plans To Expand To Gulf Countries

Source : The Business Times, September 13, 2007

The Islamic Bank of Asia is likely to open a representative office in Bahrain

Mr Cook: Sees huge potential for the business in Islamic banking

(BANGKOK) DBS Group Holdings' Islamic banking unit plans to expand from its Singapore base into the Persian Gulf this year to target the US$1 trillion global market for services that comply with the Syariah, or Islamic law.

The Islamic Bank of Asia, 60 per cent owned by South-east Asia's largest bank, may open a representative office in Bahrain to offer corporate finance, wealth management and investment services, Vince Cook, the unit's chief executive, said.

The four-month old bank aims to become a conduit from which companies and funds can tap clients across Asia and the Middle East.

'Our focus is very much cross-border,' Mr Cook said in an interview on Tuesday. 'We would start fairly small, get our feet wet. The environment in Bahrain is quite conducive for Islamic banking. It enables us to keep a close eye on the market.'

Singapore is encouraging companies to boost their range of Islamic products to woo investors from the Middle East in a bid to catch up with Malaysia to increase the city-state's share of a market estimated to grow to US$2.8 trillion by 2015.

Singapore has about S$2 billion of Syariah-compliant property funds and S$500 million of Islamic insurance funds, the central bank said in September.

'Singapore is catching up,' said Song Seng-Wun, an economist at CIMB-GK Research in Singapore. 'Singapore has been building relations in the Middle East and that will help in attracting more wealth.'

Under the Syariah, the payment of interest and investment in businesses such as tobacco, alcohol and gaming is prohibited, making many conventional stocks, bonds and banking avenues off limits to Islamic investors.

The central bank has waived double stamp duties for Islamic real estate financing and allows financial institutions to offer investment products through so-called murabaha transactions, or the sale of goods at a price plus an agreed profit margin.

The Islamic Bank of Asia, in which DBS invested US$250 million, plans to attract 'high-net worth' individuals with new investment products in the next six to 18 months, Singapore-based Mr Cook said.

The Islamic Bank of Asia is trying to strengthen its brand in a market that has attracted competitors such as Standard Chartered plc, ABN Amro Holding NV and HSBC Holdings plc. Started in May by DBS and 22 Middle East investors, the bank plans to increase staff to 60 by year-end from 40, Mr Cook said.

Qatar National Bank, the Persian Gulf emirate's largest, opened an office in Singapore in April. Bahrain's Albaraka Banking Group, the world's fourth-largest Islamic financial services provider, will spend as much as US$300 million to woo customers in India and China.

'The potential for the business is huge,' Mr Cook, 46, said. 'Almost all the participants are more interested in developing the market than they are interested in wrestling market share off each other. Everybody's eyes are on the growth.'

DBS has fallen 12 per cent this year, compared with the 18 per cent increase in Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index. -- Bloomberg

Sub-Prime Crisis Needs Multilateral Solution

Source : The Business Times, September 13, 2007

NORMALLY, when there is a major financial crisis of one kind or another, it is easy to find someone to blame. In the case of the Asian crisis 10 years ago, for example, fingers were quickly pointed at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). When Japan's bubble economy collapsed, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) was identified as the villain. Also, former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan blamed 'irrational exuberance' among investors for the rise and fall of the IT bubble.

But whom are we supposed to blame for the crisis that is still evolving out of the sub-prime mortgage market debacle in the US? No one has mentioned the IMF this time and the BOJ has been only indirectly implicated for allowing the yen carry trade phenomenon to swell to proportions where it contributed to a global liquidity bubble. As for irrational exuberance, stock markets can scarcely be blamed this time around.

It is no use pointing fingers at the likes of any single institution. The truth of the matter is that none of these institutions has been given the authority to deal with a 'new style' financial crisis such as the current one. I was chatting about this the other day with Japan's former vice-finance minister for international affairs, Eisuke Sakakibara and he was quick to go to the heart of the matter. The IMF, he declared has become 'irrelevant' as an agent for dealing with global financial issues and so has the G-7/G-8. Both should be 'abolished', he (only half) joked.

What does this have to do with the sub-prime crisis? A good deal, because the same kind of outdated mentality which allows seven or eight countries (half of them European) to pronounce upon global economic issues, and control the IMF, is also responsible for allowing problems for global fall-out to develop within national borders.

On top of that, there is the arrogance of financial markets which until recently were bold in declaring that multilateral institutions such as the IMF were no longer necessary and that the markets could police the new world financial order by themselves.

If the current financial crisis does not convince both governments and markets of the need for a 'new financial architecture' then surely nothing ever will. Money moves around the world nowadays in amounts that make official resources look puny and with a speed and complexity that is matched only by rockets and rocket science. Financial engineering produces products of such complex nature that they can be understood only by rocket scientists. The potential that these developments have to do harm as well as good is enormous, and yet the 'control centre' is still in the steam age.

True, there are institutions such as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to deal with central banking issues on a global basis and there are any number of national financial and accounting regulatory bodies. But none of these has the power to demand the kind of information that might have indicated just what kind of risks were developing in the sub-prime mortgage market, the financial derivatives market, the yen carry trade area and so on. What then of the IMF? Mr Sakakibara has little doubt about what is wrong there. 'The IMF is too macro-oriented', he told me. 'It needs to go deeper into finance. World finance has changed and they need to address issues like sub-prime issues or systemic risks in international financial markets, rather than sticking to outdated macro-economic analysis.' Some might add that since the days of former managing director Michel Camdessus, the IMF has become too preoccupied with Third World issues of poverty and development, to be able to focus on global financial market and exchange rate issues.

But this is not so much the fault of the IMF as of the G-7 governments who insisted that they could manage complex issues of global finance on their own, forcing the IMF to find new activities at the margin. This is as absurd as it is presumptuous. No national government has the intellectual resources (or the budget) to analyse the global financial system in all its evolving complexity, let alone the authority to intervene when problems arise. In Mr Sakakibara's view, the only hope is a new and expanded government group, such as the G-20, to consider global policy issues and a more focused IMF to provide the analytical and research back-up needed.

Yet, the kind of arrogance which allows so-called superpowers to ignore the United Nations in security matters and to prefer unilateral solutions would surely doom any such initiative from the outset. Perhaps the failure of military intervention in Iraq - based on the doctrine of pre-emptive strike - to secure any lasting solution to the problem of 'terrorism' might induce sufficient humility to consider reverting to multilateral solutions. But that won't happen before the sub-prime crisis has done a lot more damage than it has already.

Property transactions with contract dates between Aug 20 - 25th, 2007

New Zealand Central Bank Holds Rates Amid Global Market Turmoil

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 13 September 2007

Picture : Victoria Street in central Auckland

WELLINGTON: New Zealand's central bank kept interest rates on hold Thursday following four successive rises, citing the recent turmoil in global financial markets.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard said the official cash rate would remain at 8.25 per cent, one of the highest rates in the developed world.

"Credit concerns and heightened risk aversion have led to significant turbulence in global financial markets," Bollard said.

"This development increases the likelihood of a weaker economic outlook for the United States and New Zealand’s other key trading partners than in recent forecasts."

Nevertheless, inflation pressures remain and Bollard gave no indication that interest rates would fall anytime soon.

The central bank raised its inflation forecast for the current year to March to 2.8 per cent from 2.2 per cent in its June forecast.

In the following year, inflation is expected to rise to the top of the bank's one to three per cent mandated target range.

The economy is expected to be boosted over the next two years by sharp rises in world prices for dairy products and some other commodities and this could be reinforced if recent falls in the local currency continue.

On the other hand, previous interest rate increases were starting to dampen domestic spending, which will help to reduce inflationary pressures.

"In particular, household borrowing growth is beginning to slow and turnover in the housing market continues to fall," Bollard said.

The central bank expects economic growth of 2.9 per cent in the current year to March and for the following year. - AFP/ac

IMF Predicts Only 'Moderate' US Slowdown

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 13 September 2007

LONDON : The US home loan crisis will cause just a modest slowdown of the American economy and have a limited impact on the rest of the world, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist said on Wednesday.

"We've seen a shock that has spread to other industrialised countries faster than expected," said Simon Johnson. "It's an important wake-up call for all of us."

But, repeating an IMF analysis made earlier this month, he insisted that the economic fundamentals remained good and that the sub-prime loan crisis' "effects on the real economy remain limited."

It will result in only "a moderate slowdown in the US," where poor economic data have fuelled fears of a recession, and "will have a small effect on global growth."

Rising US home foreclosures and a persistent housing slump have triggered a US credit crunch which has unsettled global markets and raised concerns about a possible US economic slowdown.

The credit crunch has spread across the world, with the European and other central banks pumping tens of billions of dollars into the money markets so that commercial banks can continue to extend the credit on which the global economy depends.

The IMF's Johnson said that "the extent of European banks' exposure (to the US sub-prime crisis) was a surprise" but that the "European economy remains strong."

He said that "we don't really understand why this (the sub-prime crisis) is continuing" but that "central banks are ready to provide liquidity to the system and that keeps the banks comfortable in the short run."

The IMF last week said it was scaling back its projections for economic growth in the United States and Europe following the turmoil on global stock markets tied to the US housing downturn.

It did not reveal how much it expected to trim its growth estimates, but said fresh assumptions would likely be released in mid-October ahead of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings.

In a July report, the IMF revised higher its projections for global growth in 2007 and 2008 to an annualised clip of 5.2 percent respectively, compared with a prior estimate of 4.9 percent.

But that forecast was made before the current market turmoil. - AFP/de

US Gaming Tycoon Wants 'Mini-Las Vegas' Strips Worldwide; Says Asia Has Room For More Casinos

Source : AsiaOne News, Sep 12, 2007

SINGAPORE (AP) -- American billionaire and gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson said Wednesday he wanted to set up variations of Las Vegas-style strips around the world, with Asia alone having room for several more casinos.

"What I'd like to do now is different mini-Las Vegas's, I call them, in different parts of the world," Adelson said after receiving a lifetime achievement award for enterprise at the Forbes Global CEO conference in Singapore.

"There are other parts of the world where we can convert gambling dens into cities of entertainment," said the chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp. "I've been quoted as saying Asia can handle 10 Las Vegas's, maybe I'm off a little bit - maybe it's 8, maybe it's 12."

He also said there were opportunities in Europe, the Middle East, South America, and countries such as Russia, Turkey and India.

Adelson said gaming is increasingly accepted as another form of entertainment, partly because of the success of the Las Vegas model he helped develop, of integrating casinos with other offerings to maximize profit.

"What I did in the hotel and casino business is to fill the void of providing entertainment," he said. "Gaming has evolved from gambling dens into 'Disneylands' for adults."

He cited the example of Singapore - a wealthy and conservative city-state which in 2005 reversed a decades-old ban on casino gambling - and where Las Vegas Sands is now building a casino resort for a 2009 opening at a cost of about US$4 billion (€3 billion). A second casino license was awarded to Genting International PLC, whose resort is expected to be ready in 2010.

The nation's founding father Lee Kuan Yew has said he dislikes gambling - he opposed plans for a casino in the 1970s - but that he recognizes his country's image and economy will benefit from having casino gambling on its shores.

Aside from a casino, the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore will offer 2,500 hotel rooms, high-end shopping and dining establishments, meeting and convention facilities including a 8,000-capacity ballroom, among other attractions.

"(Singapore) obviously recognized this basket of amenities that makes up an integrated resort," Adelson said.

Elsewhere in Asia, Adelson late last month in Macau opened what he's claimed is the world's largest casino floor housed in Asia's largest building - the US$2.4 billion (€1.8 billion) Venetian Macao Hotel Resort. The big bet is that Macau can be much more than a playground for day-tripping gamblers from China who spend most of their time in the casinos.

Macau, just an hour by high-speed ferry from Hong Kong, has seen its gambling revenue grow rapidly since the government ended Hong Kong tycoon Stanley Ho's monopoly on the gaming industry after retaking control of the former colonial outpost from Portugal in 1999.

Last year Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip in gaming revenue to become the world's most lucrative gambling center.

Spaceport Plan Still On The Cards, Says Consortium

Source : The Straits Times, Sep 13, 2007
















DESPITE delays to its plan, a consortium that is trying to build a spaceport in Singapore says it is optimistic about the project.

A spokesman for the Singapore consortium, Mr Nick Marrett, founder of entertainment company Octtane, said two-thirds of the US$115 million (S$176 million) needed for the Singapore spaceport has been secured.

It only needs local investors to chip in the final third and it will be 'ready to go', he said.

Rather than the project losing steam, said Mr Marrett, his company actually pumped in more money recently, as a sign of confidence in the spaceport.

He added: 'We are feeling as confident about the project now as four months ago.'

The local consortium, which includes six Singapore companies - one of which is Octtane - and Virginia-based Space Adventures, announced the plans for Singapore's spaceport with great fanfare in February last year.

The plan was to attract well-heeled adventurers who are willing to spend an estimated US$100,000 for tourist flights into space.

The spaceport was meant to be the launching pad for space flights out of Asia.

It was also supposed to have museums and a cafeteria offering space food.

But since then, there has been little progress.

Even though Space Adventures has been in discussions with local authorities since 2003, The Straits Times understands that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore has yet to give the spaceport the green light.

Another member of the Singapore consortium, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that while local investors generally thought well of the project, there is a reluctance to pump in money because they feel the project is 'too ahead of its time to be commercially viable'.

A similar spaceport was announced in Dubai, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, at the same time last year.

That project has not only been approved by local authorities, but an Emirati crown prince has also pledged US$30 million to it.

Rising Costs Here A Big Problem, Say Finance Execs

Source : The Buiness Times, Sep 13, 2007

Higher rents, property prices cited in survey of 508 professionals from S'pore and HK

MORE than six out of 10 finance industry professionals in Singapore, both locals and expats, regard the rising cost of living here as 'a big problem', a recent poll has found.

This hike in living expenses may 'cause the city to lose its appeal among finance professionals, both locally and abroad', according to eFinancialCareers.com, a global online network site for jobs in asset management and investment banking.

Its poll of 508 professionals - 390 from Singapore and 118 from Hong Kong - found that 56 per cent of them considered Singapore's rising cost of living to be 'a big problem'.

Of the Singapore-based professionals, 246 of them, or 63 per cent, felt that way. The poll, which focused only on Singapore, sought the views of Hong Kong-based professionals too as they might consider a job here.

Still, some professionals point out that while costs have risen in Singapore, the Republic is still far cheaper than centres like London.

The other respondents in the poll saw no problem in higher costs (6 per cent of them), or felt it was 'to be expected', 'slight' or 'very small'.

Higher rentals and property prices were cited as the biggest bugbear. But rising parking costs and relatively pricey cars were also becoming a bigger concern.

ABN Amro's head of business banking sales for Asia, Mr Jan-Arie A. Bijloos, moved here a year ago and has watched rents 'go up quite dramatically' in the River Valley area where he lives.

'Cost of accommodation would be a concern in a year's time if my salary does not rise in tandem to compensate for it,' he said.

But the Government has said that it will monitor the market to ensure there is sufficient supply of homes. It will also be releasing more residential sites for sale in the second half of the year.

Investment banker A. Cohen, a self-termed 'Broadway arts buff' who moved here from Manhattan in May, groused about 'unpalatable ticket prices' for artistic performances.

Indeed, Singapore overtook New York in a recent ranking of the world's most expensive cities by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Hikes in accommodation costs catapulted Singapore to 14th place, from 17th place a year ago, in the ranking.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong dropped from fourth to fifth place this year. This prompted Ms Sarah Butcher, global editor of eFinancialCareers.com, to note that the shrinking gap between the two cities could impact the 'movement of finance talent between the two markets'.

But costs here were 'still manageable' compared to elsewhere, where prices have also risen, said bankers such as Mr Salman Haider, from Citibank Singapore.

Moving here from London a year ago, he found Singapore also boasts pull factors such as 'security and a great educational system'.

'Singapore is one of the most liveable cities in the world and certainly one of the best to bring up young children,' he said.

New Property Loan Index To Help Track Market Trends

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 13 Sep 2007

A new property loan index has been launched by the Credit Bureau of Singapore.

It is aimed at, among others, to track loan delinquencies and demand for housing credit.

But the information will also make it easier for market watchers to read trends in the property sector.

The new property loan index will come in handy, providing additional useful information for property market-watchers.

It covers details such as credit delinquency, loans approval and credit demand and it already shows a drop in demand for housing credit over the past four months.

In May, the total number of loan applications was 17,300, or 72 per cent above the baseline.

That tapered down to just 38 percent, or 13,870, by end-August.

Mark Rowley, General Manager, Credit Bureau Singapore, says: “Obviously if we see demand tapering off, that’s likely to lead to property prices tapering off sometime in the future. So, I think that is it’s significance for consumers. Certainly, for the banks themselves, they’re looking at indicators such as delinquency to ensure that the risks isn’t escalating in the markets.”

The numbers also show that Singapore lenders have been keeping a tight rein on housing mortgages.

Bank loan approvals stood at a positive 22 percent above baseline, lagging behind credit demand at positive 59 percent.

For every loan that was approved, about two others were rejected.

The credit bureau also revealed figures for mortgagees with more than one property loan.

The number jumped from 23,541 last June to 38,520 this June.

There are also more people who owe over S$1 million each in housing loans.

Mark Rowley says: “I think it’s indicative of the market over the past year, quite a significant increase - 60 odd per cent increase in the number of consumers that have more than one property loan. So, yes I think it’s evident of the heat that we’re seeing in the market at the moment.”

The property loan index will be updated monthly.

Besides the personal loan index, the bureau will also be coming with indices for credit card, motor vehicle and personal loans so we have a better picture of the credits risks and health of Singaporeans.

Plan For Property Developers To Change Way Of Reporting Revenue

Source : The Straits Times, 13 Sept 2007

Call for income to be booked only upon completion of a project, not gradually.

MANY real estate developers may soon have to change the way they treat sales revenue in their financial accounts.

Under a proposal submitted by the Council on Corporate Disclosure and Governance, developers will have to recognise revenue only upon completion of their projects - instead of doing so gradually, as the projects are being built.

Mr Ernest Kan, vice-president of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (Icpas), which assisted in preparing the proposal, said yesterday: ‘Most developers now recognise revenue progressively. Under this new interpretation, you can only recognise it as revenue upon a temporary occupation permit, unless you are providing construction services.

‘Most developers here would not fall into that category, as they are only involved in sales, not construction and allowing the buyer to decide what to build.’

Dr Kan said the proposal has been submitted to the industry’s international body. It should make a decision by year-end.

‘The earliest it would have an impact here is during financial year 2008,’ he added.

He said the current interpretation meant revenue flow is more even. Under the proposal, revenue will tend to ‘become more lumped up’. This move aims to standardise the accounting practice among developers.

Currently, developers interpret the global Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) differently and record revenue for the sale of units at different times.

Some record revenue only when they have handed over the completed unit to the buyer, while others book gains earlier, as construction progresses.

This move proposes that revenue should be recorded as construction progresses only if the developer is providing construction services, rather than selling units.

In some countries, the prevailing practice has been to view the FRS as contracts for the sale of goods; in this case. completed real estate units, for which FRS 18 is the applicable accounting standard.

Applying this standard, revenue is recorded only when control - and the risks and rewards of ownership - are transferred to the buyer, typically when the unit is ready for occupancy and handed over to the buyer.

In other countries, the practice is to view the sales agreements as construction contracts, for which FRS 11 is the applicable standard.

Applying this standard, revenue for constructing an asset for a customer is recorded as construction progresses - by reference to the stage of completion of the construction.

The new draft proposes that FRS 11 be used only if the sale agreement is a contract to provide construction services to the buyers’ specifications.

Analysts say the proposed change will result in more volatile earnings. However, it should not affect pricing and cash flow.

Said DBS Vickers property analyst Wallace Chu: ‘The money’s still in the bag. It’s just how you recognise it when it comes in.

‘It will affect those developers who are involved in long projects more. Revenues are likely to fluctuate for those with big projects, especially when there’s a long construction period.’

More Consumers With Two Or More Property Loans Now

Source : The Straits Times, 13 Sept 2007

Number surges by 64% from a year ago; level of new loans rises by 12%.












AMID Singapore’s property boom, the number of investors with two or more property loans shot up by 64 per cent in June from a year earlier.

And the number of borrowers owing more than $1 million in property loans was up nearly 26 per cent that month, according to new figures from Credit Bureau (Singapore). New property loans, too, rose 12 per cent from a year earlier to hit 50,514 in June.

All these inaugural figures from the bureau’s latest property market credit analysis show a surge in demand for credit amid Singapore’s property boom.

The trend is captured by the consumer credit bureau’s property loan index unveiled yesterday.

The bureau is an independent body that collates data on borrowing trends in Singapore.

The data is derived from loan data provided by 10 members including ABN Amro Bank, CitiBank, DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered and United Overseas Bank. It includes loans for private and HDB properties, and other types of properties.

A total of 38,520 consumers were holding multiple property loans in June, the data showed.

The largest number of these consumers was concentrated in District 19 (Serangoon Gardens, Hougang and Punggol) with 3,263 borrowers. Other districts with a relatively large number include District 10 (Ardmore, Bukit Timah, Holland Road), District 15 (Katong, Joo Chiat, Amber Road) and District 23 (Hillview, Dairy Farm, Bukit Panjang).

In June, there were 12,884 consumers owing more than $1 million in property loans. Most of them were from District 10 (2,033) and District 15 (1,218).

Apart from the demand for new loans, the index tracks the approval rate of new loans and the rate of delinquency for such loans.

In June, just over 2 per cent of consumers holding on to about 181,000 loans were delinquent - meaning that they have loans that were more than 30 days overdue. This is healthier than the baseline average of 2.35 per cent.

The bureau’s general manager, Mr Mark Rowley, said it devised the index to provide an early insight into the developing trends in property loans as there is ‘a lot of heat’ in the property market.

‘Delinquency is low at this time, but it is a lead indicator. From a credit risk perspective, if delinquency goes up, that is when we take note of a trend change.’

The data comes amid much talk that banks are tightening the way they lend money to finance home purchases.

‘If banks tighten their lending policy, there would be a widening gap between credit demand and approvals,’ said Mr Rowley.

The demand for new loans, which peaked at 71.77 points on the index in May, slipped in July and last month. But it is still above the average.

Mr Rowley said the loan approval figures for July appear to be tapering off, as there is a time lag in the bureau getting the credit approval figures.

‘They would be around the baseline figure, which shows that the gap is still maintained.’

The bureau will post an updated monthly property loan index on its website. It can be accessed free of charge.

The bureau will also soon issue similar indexes for credit card loans, personal loans and motor vehicle loans.

New Rule May Result In Lumpy Property Earnings

Source : The Business Times, 13 Sept 2007

Proposed change requires developers to book revenue only on completion.

A new accounting interpretation standard being proposed will require property developers to recognise revenue from their projects only on completion and not in phases.

Developers are said to be resisting the proposed change in accounting standard which, they say, will result in greater fluctuations in earnings reported by listed property companies.

The new standard is put forward by the Council on Corporate Disclosure and Governance (CCDG) which adopted it from the UK-based International Accounting Standards Board. The CCDG sets accounting standards in Singapore.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore vice-president Ernest Kan said: ‘This will cause earnings of property companies to be more erratic.’

‘Currently, if I started an 18-month project in January, and I complete two-thirds of the project this year, the 2007 financial statement looks nice because I can recognise two-thirds of the revenue and profit.

‘But under the new standard, there will be nothing to show for it in the 2007 financial statements, but next year when the project is completed there will be a sudden surge of revenue and profit which is recognised.’

The proposed change aims to standardise accounting practices among real estate developers for sales of units such as apartments before construction is complete.

The Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore said yesterday that it has given feedback to the CCDG on behalf of developers but declined further comments.

Hiap Hoe executive director Cindy Lim said: ‘Financial accounting should reflect the business and economic value generated by companies.’

‘If we were to recognise revenue only upon the completion of a property, it would not be a fair reflection of a company’s performance. Commercially speaking, revenue would have already been generated once the property is sold - even if it is only half completed.’

And the chief financial officer of a listed property developer said: ‘Most developers would prefer the status quo because we don’t want gyrations in earnings.

‘Besides, home buyers here make progressive payments based on completion, and risks are passed on to them accordingly, so developers should be allowed to recognise revenue.’

Dr Kan said the change could be implemented as soon as the financial year beginning on or after Jan 1 next year.

The CCDG has gathered feedback on the proposed change and will pass it on to the IASB, which is inviting comments until Oct 5.

‘It will be interesting to see if Singapore will adopt this. It generally wants to adopt international standards, and has only resisted doing so in very unique circumstances,’ Dr Kan said.

Boom Resonates In Home Loan Numbers

Source : The Business Times, 13 Sept 2007

Number of people with multiple home loans up 64% in June as applications surge.
















For thousands in Singapore, a single home - or a single loan - is no longer enough.

Riding the property boom, with its promise of huge gains, the number of people with multiple home loans soared to 38,520 in June this year.

This represented a 64 per cent jump from 12 months ago. In June 2006, the number of people with two home loans or more stood at just 23,541, according to the Credit Bureau (Singapore) Pte Ltd (CBS), which released data on property loans for the first time yesterday.

In tandem with rising property prices, new home loan applications surged to 17,323 in May. If the past 30 months are a benchmark, then the average month sees just 10,000 new home loan applications.

Also, over the past two-and-a-half years, an average of 4,000 applications have been approved each month. But in May, a total of 4,856 applications were approved, suggesting that while banks had stepped up the pace of approvals, the applications had flooded in even faster.

Loan approval data lags applications as it refers to disbursements which could be a few months later or even as long as two years down the road for borrowers who bought on deferred payment schemes.

June saw 4,794 approvals against 16,017 applications. The breather that the property market then took was echoed in the number of new loan applications, which fell to 13,870 in August.

Property loan approvals increased 12 per cent in June 2007 to 50,514 from a year ago.

Explaining the relatively low rate of approvals compared to the applications flowing in, Mark Rowley, CBS general manager, ventured that people making ‘multiple applications’ could have something to do with it - as could the credit policy of banks.

And while there has been some anecdotal evidence of banks tightening credit, he said it was too early to say if the low rate of approval was a result of that.

Said Helen Neo, head of consumer banking of Maybank in Singapore: ‘A home loan application may be rejected if the applicant’s repayment ability is in doubt taking into account his overall financial commitments.’

Tan Chia Seng, Citibank Singapore business director, said that in the last 12 months, there had been a noticeable increase in big ticket mortgages and multiple home loan borrowers.

‘At Citibank, we always take a prudent approach towards mortgages,’ said Mr Tan.
‘For multiple home loans, it is particularly important to consider the applicant’s aggregate servicing capability for all his loans, especially his home loans,’ he added.

He ventured that one possible reason for the low approval rate could be that the applicants’ aggregate servicing capability for all his loans has fallen below an acceptable level.

‘If the applicant has a disproportionately high debt-servicing ratio, a prudent bank may not approve his application for a second or third home loan,’ said Mr Tan. ‘In our case we have been declining loans to applicants where the debt-servicing ratio exceeds our comfort level.’

CBS said the data, which have been compiled over the 30 past months and used to develop a property loan index, show a hunger for credit to finance properties under the current property boom.

The index showing credit hunger climbed to a high in May, 71 per cent above the baseline or 17,323 new loan applications. Single-day sellouts at various property launches also repeatedly made the headlines.

Home loan approvals jumped 23 per cent in May to 4,856. In April, the number stood at just 3,967.

The good news is that along with the relentless climb in property prices, the delinquency rate, or the proportion of borrowers behind with their home loan instalments, is falling.

CBS also charted a delinquency index which shows the percentage of people being late in payments has been declining from the average delinquency rate of 2.35 per cent to just 2.04 per cent as of June 2007.

That works out to 5,448 delinquent borrowers out of the total 266,512.

From a credit risk perspective, it is very positive, said CBS’s Mr Rowley.

‘We will always focus on delinquency as the indicator - it’s low at this point,’ he said.

District 19 - Home Of Property Investors

Source : The Business Times, 13 Sept 2007

Data shows area has highest number with multiple home loans.

It may not top Singapore’s wealth charts, but Hougang has plenty of property investors - or speculators. District 19, which includes Serangoon Gardens, Hougang and Punggol, has the highest number of borrowers with multiple property loans, at 3,263.

According to data from Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS), which analysed loans and looked at where borrowers live, investors are defined as people with two home loans and more. They live all over Singapore and are not confined to the rich districts of 10 and 11 or 15.

In fact District 9, which includes Orchard, Cairnhill and River Valley, has only 716 borrowers with at least two home loans. This is much lower than districts 16, 18, 20, 22 and 23, each of which has between 2,000 and 2,700 borrowers with more than one loan.

People with multiple home loans totalled 38,520 in June - a 64 per cent jump from 12 months earlier.

And District 19 took the top prize in this category - at 3,263. CBS general manager Mark Rowley said this could be due to the number of property launches in the area, although the data would include residents who have bought elsewhere.

While the rich residents of districts 15, 9 and 10, which include Katong, Orchard, Ardmore, Bukit Timah and Holland Road, figure prominently in terms of people owing banks more than $1 million on property loans, the data shows people who owe more than a million dollars on homes live all over the island. The number jumped a hefty 26 per cent to 12,884 in June from a year ago.

‘The value of properties has gone up,’ said Mr Rowley who does not consider the jump in big loans a matter of concern, given the low rate of delinquency among borrowers.

District 10, which is made up of Ardmore, Bukit Timah, Holland Road and Tanglin, has the most million-dollar borrowers at 2,033, up 30 per cent from a year ago.

Again District 19 didn’t do too badly. It has 618 such borrowers, a slight gain of 2 per cent from June 2006.

District 24, which comprises Lim Chu Kang and Tengah, has a grand total of 6 people who owe more than $1 million on their home loans, a 100 per cent jump from 12 months ago.

Interestingly, Kranji and Woodgrove in District 25 are the only places where residents who owe more than $1 million showed a drop - 117 versus 119 a year ago. They also seem the most conservative area, with only 20 people having multiple home loans.

And District 25 had a 16 per cent fall in new property loans. This translated to 1,666 people getting a loan, down from 1,984 a year ago.

It was one of five districts that showed a negative in new property loan approvals. The other four were districts 22, 24, 27 and 20.

CBS gets its property loan data from 10 financial institutions, eight banks and two finance companies.

They are ABN Amro Bank, CitiBank, DBS Bank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank, United Overseas Bank, Hong Leong Finance and Sing Investments & Finance.

CBRE, Savills Open New Offices

Source : The Business Times, 13 Sept 2007

PROPERTY firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) is set to open its office in Koh Samui, Thailand, while its competitor Savills officially opened its office in Dalian, China, yesterday. CBRE’s office opens tomorrow.

The group, which already has offices in Bangkok and Phuket, said in a press statement yesterday that the move was in response to growing investor demand, and the number of quality developments on the market.

The Koh Samui office will offer a full range of services, including residential sales, investment and land services, research and consulting, and valuation services.

It will be supported by CBRE’s regional offices in Asia and will be part of a larger business plan to roll out a high-end luxury properties platform.

Separately, integrated property services provider Savills yesterday launched its Dalian office, bringing the group’s total number of offices in China to eight, with staff strength estimated at 3,000.

Earlier this year, Savills also opened offices in Tianjin and Chengdu. Savills Dalian offers full agency services, including residential sales, commercial and retail leasing, property management, research, development and consultancy, and valuation.

Shu Zhong Hua, a real estate veteran with over 10 years’ experience in China, has been appointed general manager of the Dalian office.

At the opening ceremony, Savills also announced their appointment as property management consultant for Jguang East Coast, a 120,000 sq metre high-end residential project located in Dalian’s eastern Zhongshan district. The project is expected to be launched at the end of this month.

DBS Eyes Islamic Investors

Source : TODAY, Thursday, September 13, 2007

Bank plans to expand to the Persian Gulf






















DBS GROUP Holdings’ Islamic banking unit plans to expand from its Singapore base into the Persian Gulf this year to target the US$1 trillion ($1.52 trillion) global market for services that comply with Islamic law, or Sharia.

The Islamic Bank of Asia, 60 per cent owned by South-east Asia’s largest bank, may open a representative office in Bahrain to offer corporate finance, wealth management and investment services, Singapore-based chief executive officer Vince Cook said.

The bank aims to become a conduit from which companies and funds can tap clients across Asia and the Middle East.

“Our focus is very much cross-border,” Mr Cook said. “We would start fairly small, get our feet wet. The environment in Bahrain is quite conducive for Islamic banking. It enables us to keep a close eye on the market.”

Singapore is encouraging companies to boost their range of Islamic products to woo investors from the Middle East and increase the city-state’s share of a market estimated to grow to US$2.8 trillion by 2015.

Under Sharia, the payment of interest and investment in businesses such as tobacco, alcohol and gaming is prohibited, making many conventional stocks, bonds and banking avenues off limits to Islamic investors.

“Singapore is catching up,” said Mr Song Seng-Wun, an economist with CIMB-GK research. “Singapore has been building relations in the Middle East and that will help in attracting more wealth.”

Islamic Bank of Asia, in which DBS invested US$250 million, plans to attract “high-net worth” individuals with new investment products in the next six to 18 months, Mr Cook said.

The Islamic Bank of Asia is trying to strengthen its brand in a market that has attracted competitors such as Standard Chartered, ABN Amro and HSBC.

Started in May by DBS and 22 Middle East investors, the bank plans to increase staff to 60 by yearend from 40.

Qatar National Bank, the Persian Gulf emirate’s largest, opened an office in Singapore in April.

Bahrain’s AlBaraka Banking Group, the world’s fourth-largest Islamic financial services provider, will spend as much as US$300 million to woo clients in India and China. — BLOOMBERG

Genting Int'l Raised $2.17b To Pay For Casino Resort

Source : TODAY, Thursday, September 13, 2007

Genting International has raised $2.17 billion from a rights offering to help pay for the development of its Singapore casino resort.

The offer followed its issue of $875 million in convertible bonds, bringing the total proceeds to more than $3 billion.

The Singapore-listed gaming company said it has awarded $600 million worth of contracts.

Genting has said it expects the casino — to be located on Sentosa island — to be completed in 2010 at a cost of about $5.2 billion.

Rules Fine But Give Room For Flexibility

Source : TODAY, Thursday, September 13, 2007

Sickly, aged parents unable to rent HDB flat directly

Letter from FARISHA M SIKANDAR

I BELIEVE that Housing Development Board (HDB) rules and regulations are set for a reason. However, I also think there could be some flexibility in applying them.

A few years ago, when my parents bought a flat directly from the HDB, I had to be the third owner as my parents’ Central Provident Fund account was insufficient to pay for the house.

Last year, before I got married, I was told that HDB rules do not allow a married couple to own a separate HDB flat under their individual names.

My husband also had another flat under his name and we were told we had to sell one of the flats.

Because of this, my parents had to sell their flat. Being old and earning low incomes — my father is 63 and my mother 58 — they thought they could rent a small flat from HDB.

That was not to be. They found out they were not eligible to do this for the next two years or so.

Caught in this situation, we had to rent a flat at $1,070 a month, excluding utility charges.

With the recent hikes in property prices, the landlord decided to raise the monthly rent after the one-year lease ran out.

My parents could not afford the higher rent and gave up the flat early this month.

In July, my parents, my husband and I sought assistance from our Pasir Ris-Punggol Member of Parliament to appeal to HDB for a direct rental flat for my parents.

After a few weeks, we received a mailed response rejecting the appeal.

The reason given was that my parents had previously applied twice for flats directly from the HDB and were, hence, not eligible for the direct rental of a flat at the time.

The letter said the rule was to ensure fairness to other applicants.

This was the same response to my earlier query to the HDB on behalf of my parents before we sought the MP’s assistance.

My parents cannot afford today’s high rents.

Although both are heart patients and in poor health, they have to hop from one relative’s place to another.

My husband and I are struggling financially and are unable to accommodate them.

He is supporting his parents and two younger siblings, who live in his four-room flat.

With the recent talk about supporting the elderly in their retirement, giving them adequate and affordable medical attention and so on, I hope the HDB could be more flexible.

It should judge cases with more compassion and consideration on a case-bycase basis. It will be especially helpful for those who really need it.

‘Las Vegases’ Across Asia?

Source : TODAY, Thursday, September 13, 2007

That’s the vision of Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson

AMERICANbillionaire and gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson wants to set up variations of Las Vegas-style strips around the world, with Asia a possible location for several more casinos.

“What I’d like to do now is different ‘mini-Las Vegases’, I call them, in different parts of the world,” Mr Adelson said after receiving a lifetime achievement award for enterprise at the Forbes Global CEO conference.

“There are other parts of the world where we can convert gambling dens into cities of entertainment,” said the Las Vegas Sands chairman.

“I’ve been quoted as saying Asia can handle 10 Las Vegases. Maybe I’m off a little bit — maybe it’s eight, maybe it’s 12.”

Mr Adelson said gaming is increasingly accepted as another form of entertainment, partly because of the success of the Las Vegas model he helped develop, of integrating casinos with other offerings to maximise profit.

“What I did in the hotel and casino business is to fill the void of providing entertainment,” he said. “Gaming has evolved from gambling dens into ‘Disneylands’ for adults.”

He cited the example of Singapore, where Las Vegas Sands is now building a casino resort for a 2009 opening at a cost of about US$4 billion ($6.1 billion). A second casino licence was awarded to Genting International, whose resort is expected to be ready in 2010.

The nation’s founding father, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, has said he dislikes gambling but that he recognises Singapore’s image and economy will benefit from having casino gambling on its shores.

The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore will also offer 2,500 hotel rooms, high-end shopping and dining establishments, meeting and convention facilities including a 8,000-capacity ballroom, among other attractions.

“Singapore obviously recognised this basket of amenities that makes up an integrated resort,” Mr Adelson said.

Late last month, he opened what he has claimed is the world’s largest casino floor, housed in Asia’s largest building — the US$2.4-billion Venetian Macao Hotel Resort. - AP

Sands’ Chairman Honoured At Forbes Conference




















Mr Sheldon Adelson (left), chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands, receives the Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award from Mr Steve Forbes at the Forbes Global CEO Conference at the Ritz Carlton in Singapore.

The award was presented to Mr Adelson in recognition of his efforts to revive Las Vegas in the 1990s. Mr Adelson broke into the business world when he borrowed $200 from his uncle to sell newspapers when he was 12 years old. He launched one of the computer industry’s leading trade shows, Comdex, in the mid 1980s, before buying the old Sands Casino in Las Vegas.

Waterfront-Garden Living Planned At Marina South

Source : The Straits Times, Sep 13, 2007

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority has set aside 60 hectares of land at Marina South, strategically located between the Garden and the Straits of Singapore, for a landmark residential district.

It said in a joint release with the Singapore Institute of Architects that it has 'planned 11,000 housing units and a mix of commercial, hotel and community facilities for all to enjoy'.

'It is envisioned as a landmark residential district that offers residents the best of both worlds - a rare opportunity to experience waterfront living within a lush garden setting by the Garden at Marina South,' plus 'panoramic views of Singapore's signature skyline'.

City living with magnificent views of the waterfront or greenery is the lifestyle choice of many Singaporeans. It is in line with the Concept Plan 2001- URA's long term plan that guides Singapore's development over the next 40 to 50 years - which called for more city living options for Singaporeans.

Competition
To garner refreshing and innovative ideas that can distinguish the next-generation living environment, they are inviting the public to submit design ideas to showcase Singapore's Garden City image.

'The urban design and architectural ideas sought will serve as an inspiration and catalyst for the master plan to guide the development of the Marina South Residential District.'

The 10 best ideas submitted will be rewarded with $50,000.

The competition opens on Thursday and closes on Nov 12. All submissions will be exhibited in November as part of the Singapore Design Festival 2007, during which the winning designs will be announced.

Marina Bay is the centrepiece of Singapore's urban transformation into a vibrant, global city. Several prime sites have already been earmarked for exciting new developments, including the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort and the 100-ha Gardens By the Bay.

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Press Release : Jointly issued by Urban Redevelopment Authority and Singapore Institute of Architects 13 September 2007

Waterfront-Garden living in the heart of the city – this is the plan the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has in store for Marina South. The URA is setting aside 60 ha of land at Marina South for a landmark residential district, strategically located between the Garden at Marina South and the Straits of Singapore. Some 11,000 housing units have been planned, with a mix of commercial, hotel and community facilities for all to enjoy.

To garner refreshing and innovative ideas that can distinguish this next-generation living environment, the URA and Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) are jointly organising a Design Ideas Competition for the Marina South Residential District. The urban design and architectural ideas sought will serve as an inspiration and catalyst for the master plan to guide the development of the Marina South Residential District.

Waterfront-Garden Living by the Bay

Marina Bay is the centrepiece of Singapore’s urban transformation into a vibrant, global city. Several prime sites have already been earmarked for exciting new developments, including the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort (a destination attraction offering world–class hotel, convention, entertainment facilities and a casino), and the 100-ha Gardens By the Bay. The Marina South Residential District, located within Marina Bay, is being master planned by URA as the next stage of development. It is envisioned as a landmark residential district that offers residents the best of both worlds – a rare opportunity to experience waterfront living within a lush garden setting by the Garden at Marina South.

Today, city living with magnificent views of the waterfront or greenery is the lifestyle choice of many Singaporeans. This is in line with the Concept Plan 2001- URA's long term plan that guides Singapore's development over the next 40 to 50 years - which called for more city living options for Singaporeans. The Marina South Residential District will provide the opportunity for attractive city living amid lush greenery next to the water, with panoramic views across Singapore’s signature skyline.

The site plan is attached at Appendix A.

Design Ideas Competition

The Competition is open to all students and professionals in planning, architecture and landscape fields, both locally and internationally.

The submissions are to:

a Illustrate how high-density city living can be achieved in an attractive environment that offers the experience of being in a waterfront garden;

b Emphasise on environmental sustainability & a sense of community;

c Set a new benchmark in residential development in anticipation of future lifestyle trends and aspirations; and

d Make Marina South a landmark district that will showcase Singapore’s Garden City image.

A sum of $50,000 has been set aside to be awarded for up to 10 best ideas, to be distributed equally among the winning teams. In the spirit of unbiased assessment, the design submissions will be judged in anonymity.

The Jury for the competition will include:

a Mr Tai Lee Siang
President (Chairperson), Singapore Institute of Architects

b Ms Fun Siew Leng
Director (Urban Planning & Design), Urban Redevelopment Authority

c Dr Belinda Yuen,
President, Singapore Institute of Planners

d Mr Liam Wee Sin
Chief Operating Officer, UOL Group Limited

e Professor Heng Chye Kiang
Dean, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore

The Competition is launched on 13 September 2007 and closed on 12 November 2007. All design submissions will be publicly exhibited in November as part of the Singapore Design Festival 2007, during which the winning designs will be announced. The winning ideas may also be incorporated in URA’s master plan for Marina South, which will be exhibited as part of the Master Plan 2008 next year.

Interested participants can download the brief, submission requirements and terms and conditions of the competition from www.ura.gov.sg or www.sia.org.sg/marina.

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Appendix A

North, East Fuel Property Boom

Source : TODAY, Thursday, September 13, 2007

More buyers in these areas taking multiple loans: CBS













AS the property market fever spread throughout the island, it seemed people living in the northern and eastern parts of Singapore were largely responsible for fuelling the boom.

Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Tampines, Katong and even Punggol were among the districts with the most number of residents who took out two or more property loans, according to Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS).

Taking pole position were Serangoon Gardens, Hougang and Punggol, with 3,263 consumers in the entire district juggling multiple loans as of June — a repeat of the situation last year. In second spot was the district of Hillview, Dairy Farm, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang.

What is notable is that numbers in all top five districts grew by more than 50 per cent from last year, with the Hillview cluster experiencing the biggest spike (78.8 per cent).













The number of borrowers islandwide with multiple property loans climbed 64 per cent — from 23,541 consumers last June to 38,520 this year.

The Serangoon Gardens cluster and the Katong-Joo Chiat-Amber Road district, which came in third, were also home to about 1,800 consumers who owed more than $1 million in property loans.

The district with the most number of such credit borrowers — 2,033 of them — was the upmarket Ardmore, Bukit Timah, Holland Road and Tanglin.

Growing in tandem were new property loans approved, which went up by 12 per cent to 50,514 approvals.

These statistics on the latest property market credit trends — derived from data uploaded by 10 banks and financing firms, such as Hong Leong and Citibank — were released yesterday by the CBS, which also unveiled its new property loan index.

The index, which is slated to be published on the CBS’ website every month, tracks three indicators: Credit hunger in the form of new loan applications; the number of new loans granted; and delinquency, or loans that are overdue for more than 30 days.

These indicators are measured against the market’s average for the entire period between January 2005 and June this year.

As of June, the credit hunger reading stood at 59 per cent higher than the average for the past 30 months.

Credit approval, too, was some 22 per cent above the baseline. What went south and registered a negative figure was the delinquency reading, which — at 13 per cent — indicated that homebuyers in Singapore are “managing their property loans well”, CBS said.

Its general manager Mark Rowley said that given the current property boom that fuelled a hunger for credit to finance their properties, such an index would “provide homebuyers, regulators and industry players with an early insight into the developing trends in the property loan sector”.

Plans are in the pipeline to roll out more indices on the consumer credit market, such as motoring, credit card and personal loans, over the next few months. An overall Singapore Credit Index will also be developed, Mr Rowley added.

Billionaire Expects To Do Well In Marina Bay Sands Gambit

Source : The Strait Times, 13 September 2007














MR ADELSON, receiving the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award from Mr Forbes(right). He is counting on the two-horse race between his firm and Malaysia's Genting - and a big bet on conventions - to result in big bucks. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN

WITH just one competitor in town, Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson believes his company has a winning hand in its upcoming Singapore venture.
Even as costs of building the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort look set to swell, the American billionaire is counting on the two- horse race - and a big bet on the convention business - to translate into big bucks.

'This will be a duopoly and, of course, any place that has a duopoly will be very profitable,' said Mr Adelson yesterday at the Forbes Global CEO Conference.

Speaking in a public interview after receiving a lifetime achievement award from Forbes magazine president Steve Forbes, Mr Sheldon added that his mega project will have enough space to host the world's biggest conventions.

Las Vegas Sands pipped three other rivals last year with a $3.85billion bid for a government tender to build Singapore's first integrated resort.

But rising construction costs amid a building boom and refinements to the project's design may bump up the amount, which excluded a fixed land price of $1.2 billion, by as much as 40 per cent, The Business Times quoted chief operating officer William Weidner as saying last month.

Malaysia's Genting International is building Singapore's second gaming development on Sentosa island.

Las Vegas Sands' Singapore resort will be the company's second foray into Asia, after it opened a US$2.4 billion (S$3.6 billion) casino resort in Macau last month.

Mr Adelson said the region has room for 10 more of these mega developments, as gaming becomes increasingly accepted as just another form of entertainment.

'I see the gaming industry as being in its infancy.

'Gaming has evolved from gambling dens into Disneylands for adults,' said Mr Adelson, who reckons that other parts of the world, such as Europe and India, could do with more mini Las Vegas-styled casino resorts.

These developments, he said, are really 'cities of entertainment' where gambling is just one of the elements.

Gaming takes up just 1 per cent of the space of the company's flagship Venetian resort in Las Vegas, and just 5 per cent in its Macau outfit, he added.

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'This will be a duopoly and, of course, any place that has a duopoly will be very profitable.'