Shares in Malaysian casino and resort operator Genting Malaysia reached a nine-month high on Monday as the nation starts gradually easing its latest round of COVID-19 restrictions.
As reported by The Star Online, shares climbed 4.81% to RMB2.83 to start the week with more than 19 million shares traded as investors responded positively to Genting Malaysia’s short-term prospects.
Despite Malaysia reporting another 1,371 cases of COVID-19 on Monday, authorities last week began lifting restrictions on inter-district and inter-state travel across much of the country, having implemented a Conditional Movement Control Order in certain states in mid-October.
While critics say restrictions have been lifted too early, it bodes well for Genting Malaysia which had previously enjoyed a strong resurgence through September on the back of domestic tourism. Research house RHB Research Institute noted at the time that visitation to Resorts World Genting had grown by 50% since the IR reopened in June, while financial services firm CGS-CIMB reported casino volumes were back to half of usual capacity by mid-July.
However, the company reported a loss of MYR726.3 million (US$178.6 million) for the three months to 30 September 2020, with group-wide revenue down 46% to MYR1.42 billion (US$349.1 million) including a 34% decline at Resorts World Genting to MYR1.18 billion (US$290.1 million).
