Malaysia’s Resorts World Genting (RWG) is likely to remain shut for another three months, with Maybank Investment Bank predicting a November reopening based on the progress of the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Such a scenario would push the property’s current closure period out to five months, with operator Genting Malaysia having originally suspended operations on 1 June due to a nationwide lockdown.
Although Malaysia began easing COVID-19 restrictions for some economic activities this week, Maybank IB analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang said in a note that Resorts World Genting is unlikely to open its doors until after the national vaccination rate reaches 80%
“Our investment thesis of Covid-19 vaccination led recovery remains intact as Malaysia is expected to achieve herd immunity by October 2021 as COVID-19 vaccinations have surged to more than 400,000 per day,” said Yin.
“At this rate, the government expects Malaysia to achieve herd immunity by October 2021. Thus, we hope that Malaysians will return to RWG in droves after that.”
According to Yin, the reopening of RWG will be followed by the long-awaited launch of the new Genting SkyWorlds theme park, already postponed multiple times, in December to coincide with the school holidays.
The extended closure of RWG has seen Maybank IB widen its net loss forecast for Genting Malaysia by 52% in 2021, with estimated visitor numbers slashed from 8.5 million previously to 5 million.
However, forecasts of a return to profit for 2022 and 2023 remain unchanged on expected visitor arrivals of 24.2 million and 26.2 million respectively.
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