Singapore seeks to turn into Asian version of Monte Carlo

A prime destination mainly for bankers and businessmen, Singapore also has started drawing tourists with a slew of new attractions, the most popular being two casino-complexes built at a cost of over US$10 billion that opened earlier this year.

The two casinos and their related attractions represent the new face of a city that wants to transform itself from regional trade and financial center into a place for both work and play.

“I'm looking out of my window at the new skyline. What has developed over the last five years has been amazing,” Hanspeter Brummer, CEO for Asia at Swiss private bank BSI, said from his office which overlooks the new Marina Bay financial district.

“Singapore is more than just Monte Carlo, which is a bit artificial. Singapore doesn't just have one industry but a number of industries. People really have good reasons to come here,” said Brummer, a Swiss national who worked in the city-state from 1997 to 2000 and returned in 2006.

Unlike the existing central business district, Marina Bay, built on reclaimed land around the mouth of the Singapore River, comprises not just office skyscrapers but also shops, residences, theatres and the towering US$5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands built by U.S. casino giant Las Vegas Sands.

Marina Bay is also home to the world's biggest Ferris wheel, restaurants fronted by Michelin-starred celebrity chefs and the world's first night-time Formula One circuit.

Over at Sentosa, to the west of the central business district, Genting Singapore's Resorts World casino and its Universal Studios theme park opened in February. The US$4.8 billion complex earned SG$503.5 million (US$369.9 million) before interest, tax and depreciation in the three months ended June 2010.

Should Resorts World continue to rake in a similar amount of money in subsequent quarters, it would surpass all rivals in Las Vegas and Macau in terms of profitability, analysts say.

Las Vegas Sands has not yet reported earnings for the June quarter but CEO Sheldon Adelson has said he expects Marina Bay Sands to generate gross earnings of over US$1 billion annually.

Tourists and Taxis

Although both casinos have yet to complete all their attractions, which include what will be the world's largest oceanarium, they have already created new business for hoteliers and taxi drivers.

Visitors to the city-state of 5.1 million people rose by over a-fifth to around 6.5 million in the seven months to July from a year ago. Hotel occupancy hit 90 percent in July, up 10.2 percentage points, while room rates rose 20 percent on average from a year earlier.

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