How many billions traveled to Hong Kong | Business and Economy

Lim Kok Thay started a shipping and gambling business in the 1990s in Hong Kong and transformed himself into one of Asia’s largest sailors.

It was a charity work, as well as a way to transform the casino business founded by his father, Lim Goh Tong, in Malaysia. Under the now 70-year-old Kok Thay, Genting Hong Kong Ltd. enlarged its fleet, purchased more naval voyages and added more German naval lines to build its fleet.

Now, two years after the coronavirus epidemic, the Kok Thay company is planning to eradicate it. Genting Hong Kong filed a petition last week to end its business on one of the things that has been most frustrating for the pilot since the virus was launched. It is a clear example of how coronaviruses have brought successful businesses to their knees, which can affect maritime clients across the region.

“I was very upset when I heard this news,” said Chloe Then Sheau Nyuk, who used to travel company from Penang in Malaysia to Phuket and Krabi in Thailand. She said one of the things she enjoyed most was waking up with her husband at 6 o’clock in the morning to catch the sunrise from above.

A Genting spokesman denied Bloomberg’s request for Kok Thay. A Genting Hong Kong representative did not respond.

Kok Thay founded the company that will be Genting Hong Kong in 1993, buying ships from a non-profit company to operate under the Star Cruises brand. His first ships were second, and it was during the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s that he began buying new ones.

Over the years, Genting Hong Kong expanded its business beyond Star Cruises, among other things, and acquired other cruises. It purchased Crystal Cruises from the US and established Dream Cruise tours in Asia.

It was a time when naval giants, such as Carnival Corp., were making progress as the region continued to set a new record for sailors.

The company has also seized a number of ships from Germany since 2015 to build its fleet.

But the epidemic forced maritime companies to suspend operations, Kok Thay’s long-term betting on the companies – and the prospect of economic growth from China and Asia as a whole – began to fade. Although the company provided “trips” as part of its international voyage, it said it lost $ 1.7 billion in May. The handwriting was on the wall.

Then, earlier this month, his shipbuilding company, MV Werften, filed a lawsuit in Germany.

And last week, Genting Hong Kong, which is 76% of Kok Thay’s, filed a lawsuit in Bermuda to liquidate the company and appoint a timekeeper. He said his money is expected to expire at the end of January and he has no chance of earning any more money.

The company is “tired of all the effort” to negotiate with lenders and stakeholders, it said in a Hong Kong exchange report. Genting Hong Kong shares fell more than 60% from the November price before being suspended on January 18th.

Peninsula Petroleum Far East Pte. filed a lawsuit in the US seeking reimbursement of $ 4.6 million in total unpaid fuel fines imposed on three Genting ships since 2017. The Crystal Symphony, a Genting Hong Kong high-speed cruise ship, was to be seized if it stopped in Miami as planned, according to J. Stephen Simms, attorney general representing Peninsula Petroleum Far East who said he had been informed of the process. More track records show that the ship stopped in the Bahamas on Saturday evening, while a US-based permit would not be valid.

Reservations are still available on the Genting Hong Kong page for you to travel anywhere from Hong Kong and Singapore. Already planned Dream Cruise cruises will continue, according to a company representative.

‘Being infected’

Genting Hong Kong challenges reflect Asia, where major markets such as China and Hong Kong remain closed and follow Covid-Zero trends. Other tour operators, such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., are on the rise because markets like the US, America and Europe are now “living with the virus.”

Although Kok Thay faced a challenge in the maritime business, it is only one part of his larger group, whose father started with a casino that is now called Resorts World Genting more than an hour’s drive outside Kuala Lumpur. It is the only place with casino licenses in a country where there are many Muslims who do not like gambling.

Kok Thay, who still has a low profile, and his father worked on growing and transforming the business across Malaysia, making it one of the biggest games in the world. Today, Genting also operates casino casinos in the UK, Singapore and the US, while the $ 4.3 billion resorts of Resorts World Las Vegas opened in June.

His father, who was born in China and emigrated to Malaysia while still part of Britain, died in 2007 after a short illness. At least four years earlier, Kok Thay had already led the band.

One question is whether Kok Thay will try to bring back Genting Hong Kong with the help of other companies. Sister firm Genting Malaysia Bhd., Which operates a national casino site, had previously sold in Genting Hong Kong, more than two decades ago. It sold its 17% stake for $ 415 million in 2016.

However, experts say the challenges of Genting Hong Kong will not thwart Kok Thay’s goals in the Genting community.

Genting Hong Kong reported missing $ 1.7bn in May [File: Lam Yik/Bloomberg]

Genting Malaysia, which bought the Equanimity court that the Malaysian government had seized from Jho Low who fled $ 126 million in 2019, is planning to open a new $ 800 million outdoor park. Genting Singapore Ltd. is raising S $ 4.5 billion ($ 3.3 billion) at Resorts World Sentosa, one of the largest casinos in Southeast Asia.

There are no companies with separate shares with Genting Hong Kong, except Kok Thay which has shares in each of them.

“The growing goals of other Genting companies should not be thwarted,” said Samuel Yin Shao Yang, a specialist at Maybank Investment Bank Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. “Every company’s debt is unlimited,” he said.

Genting Hong Kong’s crisis could help rivals who choose to focus on the Asian maritime market, said Jaime Katz, a financial analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago.

But Rick Munarriz, a Motley Fool analyst, said he expects more travel companies to follow suit.

“Genting Hong Kong may not be the last pilot to make money,” he said. “Lenders and lenders are tired of throwing good money after bad.”