So much for luxury shopping.
A recent earnings report revealed that casino revenue at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) plunged 28 percent in the first quarter, while mall revenue decreased 2 percent. Hotel room revenue also slipped, sliding down 0.8 percent even as MBS tried their darnedest to pull in the riches by employing football/fashion star David Beckham as their ambassador.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. — who owns MBS along with casino-hotels in Macau — has reportedly held preliminary talks with prospective buyers of the MBS mall, says Inside Retail Asia.
“We have been approached. We have been talking to people,” said Las Vegas Sands Corp. chairman Sheldon Adelson. The gambling tycoon expressed considerations in selling the casino resort’s retail assets after the expiration of the government-imposed moratorium next year. The temporary restriction prohibits them from selling any part of the grand complex attached to the granting of the casino development license.
Their casino rivals Genting Singapore — who operates Resorts World Sentosa — aren’t doing spectacularly either. The Singapore-listed company posted a net loss of $7.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, effectively going into the red.
