38 Kingson Sian
PRESIDENT
Travellers International Hotel Group
CLAIMS TO FAME
• Oversees Resorts World Manila, a joint venture between Genting Hong Kong and Philippine billionaire Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group
• Accelerating US$650 million expansion plan following June attack
POWER SCORE 667 LAST YEAR 36
Resorts World Manila is coming back from the 2 June nightmare that left 38 dead. Recovery efforts remain paramount for Manila’s first integrated resort, a joint venture of Genting Hong Kong and Alliance Global Group, controlled by Philippine billionaire Andrew Tan, who installed trusted lieutenant Kingson Sian.
RW Manila’s casino closed for 27 days post-attack and its second level mass and VIP areas remain shuttered. In response, RW Manila is accelerating its Phase 3 expansion that’s adding three new casino levels – lifting the gaming element total to 650 tables and 4,000 machines. Phase 3 will also add Sheraton and Hilton hotels plus a new Maxims wing, bringing overall room count to 2,350.
In April, RW Manila opened an air-conditioned walkway to Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Last year, it completed Phase 2 featuring the Marriott Grand Ballroom. Direct airport access, MICE and weddings make a winning combination. Moreover, pre-attack RW Manila showed reinvigorated mass market growth, though it’s largely ceded VIP to Entertainment City, about 10 kilometers away.
Travellers holds the fourth Entertainment City license but isn’t rushing in. RW Manila’s situation somewhat parallels Macau’s peninsula: still viable, in some aspects advantaged over the competing casino hub, though the tide is running against it. Mr Sian’s crew is rowing hard, not abandoning ship.
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