Sands CEO says Singapore is “a hugely important market” that is “going through a growth spurt”

SINGAPORE: Las Vegas Sands CEO has expressed enthusiasm about the growth prospects in Singapore as he discussed a new development in the island nation that’s in the pipeline, in an interview with Bloomberg published on Thursday (May 30). Las Vegas Sands is the company behind Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

The chief executive, Robert Goldstein, said, “Singapore is going through a growth spurt. All of a sudden Singapore’s become a hugely important market.”

The new development is to have fewer rooms than the resort at MBS, but will also have a casino, restaurants, and an arena for live entertainment.

Mr Goldstein added that Las Vegas Sands is interested in hosting concerts from such artists as Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars

“Entertainment is a very important part of the mix. We are proposing to build a very big part of that into our new building in Singapore,” the CEO is quoted by Bloomberg as saying.

More details about the new development in Singapore, which will complement MBS, will be announced later in the year.

Bloomberg further reported the company as saying that its revenue in Singapore for the first quarter of the year saw a considerable jump of 37 per cent to US$1.16 billion (S$1.57 billion).

Mr Goldstein added that for 2024, current trends mean that Singapore could see US$7 billion (S$9.46 billion) in gambling revenues and US$10 billion (S$13.52 billion) in the near future.

Read related: Marina Bay Sands’ fourth tower, entertainment arena, expansion project to begin in July 2025

Sands is one of the biggest developers of integrated resorts across the globe. Aside from MBS, its portfolio of properties includes The Venetian Macao, The Plaza and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, and Sands Macao in Macao SAR, China, through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd.

On April 5, MBS announced that full-scale construction of its expansion plans, including a fourth tower and a 15,0000-seat arena, is set to begin by July next year. The company expects to finish this by July 2029.

The Business Times reported that the expansion, masterminded by Safdie Architects led by Moshe Safdie, the same brains behind the existing MBS property launched in April 2010, promises a lavish addition to Singapore’s skyline.

“With the ongoing support of the  Singapore government, this development will further enhance the leisure and business tourism appeal of Singapore. It optimises the site’s programming elements and is designed to drive high-value tourism growth to  Singapore,” said Mr Patrick Dumont, president and chief operating officer of  MBS’ parent company Las Vegas Sands.

/TISG

Read also: Marina Bay Sands earnings shot up by 51.1% in 1Q24, hitting S$812M