FOCUS Genting International Public Ltd: UK super casino “Dead in the water” Summary: The new UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has ordered a review ofsuper casino. This is bad news for Genting International Public Ltd (GIL)as through its subsidiary Stanley Leisure, GIL is the leading contender forthe super casino license. This is over and above the recent negative newsthat the UK government is to impose a surprise gaming tax. Incidentally thegaming tax was imposed by Gordon Brown in his role as the previousChancellor of the Exchequer (Minister of Finance). We read Mr Brown’s 2decisions on the casino to mean that he is not in favour of American styleIntegrated Resort. This could potentially be negative on GIL as we haveascribed about 75% option value for the UK super casino win, and thattranslates to a fair value estimate of S$0.86. We maintain our HOLDrecommendation for now until there is greater clarity on the issue.(Winston Liew) For more information on the above, visit www.ocbcresearch.com for thedetailed report. NEWS HEADLINES - - According to Moody's Investors Service, DBS, UOB and OCBC Bank, areamong those in Asia-Pacific which enjoy the highest rating, but face ratingrisks as they expand regionally over the next few years, particularly intoChina, Indonesia and Vietnam. - Sino-Environment Technology Group’s CFO has indicated that it isexpecting flat first-half earnings growth due to capacity constraints, butenvisages a strong second half, backed by firm fundamentals. - The Ascott Group is selling off its effective 50% stake inLondon-situated serviced residence Somerset Bayswater for S$172.2m and willrealise a net gain of S$17.8m. Ascott has also signed a S$76.1m sale andpurchase agreement to acquire its first property in Edinburgh, Scotland,slated for opening in mid-2009. - Vita Holdings is proposing a placement of up to 52m new shares - 18% ofits issued ordinary shares - at $0.25/share. The net proceeds of S$12.5mwill be used primarily to fund its on-going hotel development works inSingapore. - United Fiber System will issue US$25m of 5-year zero coupon convertiblebonds to refinance its existing borrowings and expand its businessoperations. - Oei Hong Leong has sold his entire 29.98% stake in China Healthcare andpossibly made a profit of as much as S$14.6m from his initial investment ofS$7.75m. - China Flexible Packaging Holdings has successfully completed itsplacement of 20m new shares at an issue price of S$0.48 per share, raisingnet proceeds of about S$9.28m. - CMZ Holdings, scheduled to start trading today on the mainboard, raisedS$15.3m in its initial public offering, which was 11.5 times subscribed.
