The two companies alleged to have been involved in discussions around the potential development and operation of a new casino project in the south of Malaysia, including the nation’s only current casino operator Genting Malaysia, have denied any involvement.
In a statement issued Friday, Genting Malaysia – which holds Malaysia’s sole casino license for Resorts World Genting – said “neither the company nor [Deputy Chairman and CEO] Tan Sri Lim [Kok Thay] were involved in any such discussions or meetings and the claims made are untrue.”
It also called on “all parties [to] immediately cease the publication and dissemination of the misinformation, remove the untrue claims, and provide clarification to the public to prevent further confusion.
“Genting Malaysia shall not hesitate to take further action deemed necessary to protect its interests and stakeholders.”
The statement references a report last week by Bloomberg in which the outlet alleged that Lim as well as Berjaya Corp founder Vincent Tan had met with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss the possibility of granting a second casino license for the embattled US$100 billion Forest City residential development in Johor, near the Singapore border.
That report has since been refuted by the Prime Minister, who described it as “a lie”.
Also refuting the report on Friday was Berjaya Corp, which said it “included inaccurate information that misrepresents our supposed involvement in discussion with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim regarding the Forest City project.
“We would like to make it clear that Tan has not participated in any such discussions and refute the inaccurate claims presented in the articles.”
Analysts have suggested that a casino development in Johor would potentially be a negative for the Genting Group – even if it was to secure a license itself – due to the city’s proximity to its Singapore property, Resorts World Sentosa.
RelatedPosts
