Moody’s Ratings says the roughly $1.1 billion investment by Genting Bhd, the parent company of Malaysia-listed casino business groups worldwide, in energy-related projects is “credit negative” as it will “weaken” the group’s “credit metrics” over the next 12-18 months.
Investment in energy assets “supports Genting’s ambitions for growth and expansion in and out of its core leisure and hospitality business,” the agency said.
Genting announced last week that it had invested a total of $1.03 billion through some of its subsidiaries to build a liquefied natural gas floating facility in Indonesia, with operations expected to begin by the third quarter of 2026.
The company said it plans to use a mix of internally generated cash and debt to fund this and other smaller transactions. 토토사이트 모음
Separately, the group also announced that its indirect subsidiary had agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Chinese companies in China’s energy sector for about $14 million. Genting expected to invest an additional $46 million “with the aim of operating commercially in 2025.”
The Malaysian conglomerate said acquisition prices and equity investments would be “fully financed by internally generated funds.”
Moody’s said in a note on Friday: “Given that these transactions are covered by full debt, leverage is expected to weaken to about 3.9 times over the next 12-18 months, which is expected to weaken to 3.7 times from the previous estimate of about 3.6 times.”
It added: “This lowers the downgrade threshold to 4.0x, reducing free space under the influence of genting.”
Resorts World Sentosa, a Singaporean gaming resort run by Genting Singapore, and Resorts World Genting, run by Genting Malaysia, are known to be the group’s main assets.
Genting Malaysia also operates casinos in the United States, the Bahamas, the United Kingdom, and Egypt.
Moody’s noted that Genting Group “has significant capital expenditure commitments and plans, especially for leisure and hospitality businesses.”
“Through its subsidiary, Genting Singapore, Genting is in the process of expanding its integrated resort in Singapore for a total project cost of S$6.8 billion ($5 billion),” the rating agency observed.
In addition, “In addition, Genting New York LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Genting Bhd, is bidding for one of three gaming licenses in upstate New York. The company has announced an investment plan of up to US$5 billion if it secures the license.”
“A significant increase in Genting Bhd’s capital expenditure and debt required for investment will further weaken leverage and show aggressive financial policies, putting pressure on the company’s rating,” Moody’s said.