Being first may not matter …

RWS has overcome a six-month handicap to beat Marina Bay Sands (MBS) with a soft opening .

NO ONE at the Child  Aid concert over the weekend could have missed a huge mural in the lobby of the Festive Grand Theatre at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS): it touted itself as Singapore’s ‘1st Integrated Resort’.

Staff members were out in force to make sure the resort’s first public function went without a hitch – in the auditorium, carpark and the restrooms.

From chief executive officer Tan Hee Teck down, they were clearly excited at the prospect of finally showing off the goods, so to speak. And yes, people gawked.

RWS has overcome a six-month handicap to beat Marina Bay Sands (MBS) with a soft opening for concert ticket-holders, and has declared that it will be throwing its doors open to all in early January.

On the other hand, MBS has been battling speculation and reports that it is in trouble – money-wise and management-wise. Its initial intention to open all its offerings by the end of the year had to be taken back. It will now open some parts by April, said its flamboyant chairman, Mr Sheldon Adelson. He insists the delays are ‘no big deal’.

Is he right?

The fact is, the sooner it can open for business, the faster it will generate income. This is critical because both projects have busted their budgets not once, but twice.

MBS’ estimated cost went from US$3.6billion (S$5billion) to US$4.5billion to US$5.4billion. Resorts World saw its cost rise from $5.2billion to $6billion to $6.59billion.

Analysts said RWS’ rush to be first to open could be an attempt to cash in on the ‘first-mover’ advantage and lock in resident patrons.

By law, Singapore citizens and permanent residents have to pay an entrance fee of $100 per day or $2,000 per year to patronise a casino. And the annual pass is exclusive to one casino only.

There is a small speed hump which few know about. The casino that opens first has to pay $15million a year for a licence. The fee is reduced to $12.5million when another casino opens up. When this happens, CasinoA is refunded a pro-rated amount.

This sum, however, is small beer compared to the billions that resorts are sinking into their projects.

MBS has blamed the price of sand, the cost of construction and even the rain for the delays. A critical building structure, the SkyPark linking the three hotel towers, will be hauled into place by the end of the year. That section will open for business only in June.

Mr Adelson has already put a figure on how much his resort will earn annually: US$1billion. Putting things in place properly, he said, will make up for not being able to generate revenue sooner. RWS won’t get a ‘gold star’ for being the first to open, he snorted.

‘Let them open first and we’ll see what mistakes they make and we will correct them so we’ll make fewer mistakes.’

Mr Felix Ling, a senior partner of Platform Asia, a Singapore-based casino consultancy firm, concurs.

He said: ‘An early opening is a double-edged sword. It could work to your advantage, but could also expose your soft underbelly.’

For example, the competitor can suss out its rival’s weaknesses and strengths, he said. So any minor improvement on the part of the latecomer would be appreciated by customers more.

Key business processes need to be in place in the casino and theme park for things to run smoothly, service quality has to be top notch, the attractions have to give people a sense of excitement. Otherwise, both resorts could turn out like Hong Kong Disneyland, he said.

The park, which opened in 2005, was plagued with problems from the start – including hour-long waits for rides, inadequate parking and food shortages.

Early signing of annual levy pass holders, Mr Ling added, may not be that big an advantage as the competitor can always lure customers through creative marketing programmes, superior trip incentives, and better customer loyalty programmes.

Agreeing, CIMB-GK regional economist Song Seng Wun said: ‘Being first to open will get you only bragging rights.’ Ultimately, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Both are worthy players. MBS’ parent company, Las Vegas Sands (LVS), knows the meetings and business travel market well – the trump cards that won it the bid in the first place. LVS was credited for bringing Mice – industry parlance for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions – to Vegas. When it went to Macau, its Sands Macao recouped its investment capital within a year.

More recently, it has battled potential bankruptcy and has brought back stalled Macau projects after selling shares in the Hong Kong stock market. It has also fired up to 11,000 construction workers in Macau and has put work on a project there on hold, to focus its resources on its Singapore project, which it has described as the company’s No.1 priority.

On the other hand, RWS’ parent, Genting Group, has had years of experience of operating in Asia, running the casino resort in Genting Highlands and Star Cruises.

Also, working with a world-class partner like Universal Studios has given RWS more cachet than it ever had running its own theme parks.

Expectations of RWS are high precisely because it will be the first to open. Flaws in facilities or service would not be kindly tolerated. Nor would hitches in its theme parks, including its roller coasters and other mechanical devices. In fact, if anything untoward were to happen, the speed that is now praised as efficiency would be regarded as unnecessary haste.

By all accounts, its first public function went smoothly. One thing the staff did not anticipate: When blue and white balloons were dropped from the auditorium ceiling at the end of the concert, delighting the audience, they wafted out of the door and filled the staircases.

Some stumbling and fumbling ensued as patrons made their way down the steps. Balloons were pricked by women’s stiletto heels.

To be sure, that is too small a thing to burst RWS’ bubble. But you can be sure that its rival was there – watching.

Source : Straits Times – 23 Dec 2009

Marina Bay Sands’ loss is Genting’s gain

RWS gets first mover advantage from rival’s delayGENTING Singapore’s Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) will benefit from construction delays at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) caused by problems with weather and sub-contractors.In a research note yesterday, DBS Vickers said: ‘The second delay in the soft launch of MBS will further enhance RWS’s first mover advantage.’DBS Vickers also said that ‘RWS should be able to catch the Chinese New Year peak season and lock in local market share’, highlighting that the $2,000 annual pass in lieu of $100 per entry to be paid by Singapore residents is exclusive to one casino.

The broking house maintains a ‘buy’ call on Genting Singapore at $1.16 a share and a target price of $1.30 per share.

‘RWS is on track to open in January 2010 and has submitted its casino licence application – now pending finalisation of the Casino Control Act and interviews of employees by the authorities,’ it said, adding that RWS has already recruited about 6,000 staff out of a target of 8,000. The research note comes a day after Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson said the opening date for MBS had been pushed back from the first quarter of 2010 to Q2.

Speaking at a news conference, he attributed the delays to rain and certain sub-contractors going bankrupt. Mr Adelson also shed light on the prospect of junket operators, saying that few, perhaps even none, will operate here.

 In its research note, DBS Vickers said a strict junket licensing regime will be in place ‘and we believe the Singapore government will be pragmatic in ensuring both integrated resorts will be a success’.

 For RWS, DBS Vickers expects gaming revenue to come mainly from the grind segment, contributing about 60 per cent of gaming revenue.

 ‘Universal Studios should help draw in the mass market, differentiating RWS from MBS’s MICE/business visitors focus and help diversify revenue base,’ it said. It expects non-gaming revenue to contribute 25-30 per cent of RWS’s total revenue.

 ‘In any case, a higher percentage of direct VIP business should help boost margins given the typical lower rebates compared with junket commissions,’ it said. ‘Although this could lead to higher default risk, we believe it should be easier to conduct credit checks and enforce debts given Singapore’s target market.’

No stand-alone casinos to be allowed: Iswaran

But govt considering IRs’ requests to open in phases

MARINA Bay Sands (MBS) and Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) may be allowed to open in phases but will not be allowed to open as stand-alone casinos.

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran told Parliament yesterday the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and other government agencies are considering requests by MBS and RWS to phase the opening of the integrated resorts (IRs).

‘If the requests are allowed, they will also be subject to various terms and conditions,’ he said. ‘Even as we do so, our expectation remains that each development will open as an integrated resort, and not just a stand-alone casino.’

Mr Iswaran’s comments are the clearest indication so far that even though MBS and RWS will be allowed to apply for casino licences upon spending at least 50 per cent of committed investment capital and building at least 50 per cent of committed gross floor area, this does not mean either will necessarily be allowed to open in phases.

According to the Request for Proposal for Marina Bay, if the IR is developed in phases, the public attractions at the Bayfront Promontory, the Waterfront Promenade, Event Plaza and infrastructure work must be completed in the first phase.

In response to NMP Eunice Olsen’s question on when the IR’s boost to the GDP can be achieved and whether the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) anticipates the financial crisis affecting business prospects, Mr Iswaran said he expects, ‘there may be some impact’.

In 2006, when it was announced that Las Vegas Sands had won the Marina Bay site, MTI said that based on its simulation, visitor arrivals and tourism revenue from MBS could add $2.7 billion to Singapore’s GDP by 2015, or about 0.8 per cent of the GDP at that point.

When Genting International won the Sentosa site in the same year, its chairman and CEO Lim Kok Thay said RWS was expected to generate $15 billion in revenue by 2015, accounting for half of the $30 billion tourism revenue target set by STB by 2015.

Mr Iswaran said yesterday: ‘It is premature to try to ascertain in quantitative terms what the exact impact (of the global financial crisis) will be, given the volatile economic conditions.’

He was, however, more upbeat on the longer term prospects of the IRs, saying he believes they will still add as many as 40,000 jobs by 2015. This is on top of the 20,000 direct jobs created by the IRs.

Source : Business Times – 18 Nov 2008

Marina Bay Sands may open in phases

SINGAPORE said on Wednesday it may let Las Vegas Sands open its casino in the city-state in phases from the end of 2009 instead of all at once due to the difficult economic conditions.

US casino operator Las Vegas Sands this week raised about US$1 billion to shore up its finances and said it would halt or delay projects in Macau and the United States to conserve cash. The firm said, however, that it would continue work on the planned Marina Bay Sands casino resort in downtown Singapore, which is expected to cost nearly US$5 billion.

Marina Bay Sands ‘had earlier committed to completing the integrated resort in a single phase by end-2009; however, it recently submitted a proposal for a progressive opening from end-2009 onwards’, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said. ‘STB is considering the proposal.’ The board also said Las Vegas Sands will invest about US$500 million in additional equity to ensure the Singapore project is completed.

The Marina Bay Sands will comprise a casino, hotels, convention and retail space as well as various entertainment facilities. 

Source : Business Times – 14 Nov 2008

Markets learn to live with IR worries

Impact of any delay likely to be greater in luxury segment

THE uncertainty surrounding the two integrated resorts projects — in particular, the Marina Bay Sands — is unsettling already fragile sentiment in the property market. After all, the prospects for economic benefits from the IRs have been positive for the market.

But recent developments and positive announcements from the operators have eased fears that the projects would be delayed, with analysts and industry players confident that the IRs will be completed more or less on schedule.

Still, they cautioned that any major delay would affect all parts of the property market — from luxury properties right through to the HDB market.

The Marina Bay Sands resort, which promises jobs for 10,000 people, had been under the spotlight recently, after its parent company Las Vegas Sands ran into financial difficulties.

Jones Lang LaSalle head of research (South-east Asia) Chua Yang Liang noted that the market “understands the significance” of the Marina Bay Sands IR to the Government, which is why it is not getting overly jittery.

Dr Chua said: “It is not in the State’s interest to have a gaping hole and a semi-completed structure right at the mouth of the newly-completed barrage. The negative image that could bring to the international front is not ideal and the State is likely to do what is required to push it on.”

Colliers International director of research and advisory Tay Huey Ying agreed, saying: “There is underlying optimism and confidence that the Government will ensure that the development of the Marina Bay IR will proceed one way or another.”

Prior to the current financial turmoil, the buzz generated by the announcements of the opening of the IRs — together with the F1 Grand Prix — contributed a lot to the property bull run, which has ended abruptly as the world financial crisis develops.

An example is the way “early bird” prices at The Sail @ Marina Bay went up 20 per cent, from $900 per square foot to $1,080 psf, within six months after the IR was given the green light.

Dr Chua said: “While the announcements probably did affect the psychology of the buyers, the direct impact in terms of genuine demand for real estate would only come closer to the completion of the projects with the hiring of new staff to man the resorts.”

On Tuesday, Las Vegas Sands issued a press statement stressing that Marina Bay Sands was its “No 1 priority”, as it pulled the plug on its Macau developments to focus on Singapore.

The threat of bankruptcy appeared to be staved off following the injection of US$525 million ($787 million) by Sands founder and chief executive Sheldon Adelson, but financial analysts expressed concern that it had been achieved “at a heavily dilutive price”.

Any delay to the completion of the Marina Bay Sands IR, said Dr Chua, was likely to hit the mass market more, given that some 60 to 70 per cent of the IRs’ labour requirements are expected to be filled by the local workforce typically residing in HDB flats.

But Ms Tay believe the impact of a delay would be felt greater in the high-end and luxury segments, where speculative activity is stronger.

HSR Property Group chief executive Patrick Liew expect any repercussions to be restricted to private residential properties near the Marina Bay area, with prices dipping by 3 to 5 per cent in the event of a delay.

He said: “The supporting factors for the HDB market are very well controlled. At this point in time, there’s no major oversupply situation and there is still a healthy demand.”

In fact, DTZ senior director of research Chua Chor Hoon felt a slight delay to the completion of the hotels and retail space at the Marina Bay Sands project “may not be a bad thing, as the economy is expected to fare worse next year and it is uncertain whether the expected number of visitors would materialise”.

She added: “So, if some of these are delayed, it would add less pressure to the retail and hotel sectors.”

Regardless of the short-term uncertainty, Ms Tay pointed out the IRs have already left “permanent marks” on the property market. She said: “For example, it has since paved the way for Singapore to be placed on the world map of global investors.

“While the ultimate failure of the IRsto proceed will adversely affect market sentiment, uncertainty and slight delay in the IRs’ completion and opening dates are notforeseen to have any major negative impact on the property market.”

Source : Today – Nov 2008

No govt plan to fund Marina IR: Iswaran

GLCs, as commercial enterprises, will make their own investment decisions

THE government does not plan to fund the Marina Bay Sands project if casino operator Las Vegas Sands runs into financial problems, a trade minister said yesterday.

‘There’s been no request for a government bailout from Marina Bay Sands and neither does the government intend to do one,’ Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said on the sidelines of an event yesterday.

‘This has always been a commercial project and the solutions to the challenges posed by the current economic environment and the financial market situation really lie in the commercial sector as well,’ he said.

Las Vegas Sands said on Tuesday that it would halt expansion in Macau to focus on completing the Marina Bay project – dubbed as the company’s No 1 priority by chairman and chief executive Sheldon Adelson.

The casino operator, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, also said that it was working to raise about US$2 billion in capital and would channel some of the funds to the project here.

But Las Vegas Sands admitted that there would be delays, noting that the casino would be opened in two phases which will extend into early 2010. The project was slated to open fully in 2009.

Las Vegas Sands has proposed to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to modify the project timeline, said Mr Iswaran, adding that STB has not decided if the casino operator would be penalised for the changes under the development agreement.

‘So far, STB has not agreed to any of these variations,’ he said. ‘Their proposal was to complete the whole project by 2009. If there’s a variation to that, we need to look at that and see whether there are legitimate reasons for it.’

Mr Iswaran declined to reveal what specific requests had been made by the casino operator, citing confidentiality issues.

Disclosures would be made ‘at the appropriate time’, he said.

He added that while the government is still studying the proposal, STB has ‘very clear rights’ under the development agreement outlining the original project timeline.

‘We have those rights and they’ve been very well demarcated,’ he said. ‘They’re there to be exercised, if there are any eventualities.’

STB declined to reveal the terms of the development agreement when contacted.

The delay is unlikely to change the creation of the 10,000 jobs from the casino, said Mr Iswaran.

Market talk has been that government-linked companies (GLCs) could be poised to take a stake and inject funding if needed.

In response, Mr Iswaran said that GLCs are ‘commercial enterprises’.

‘They have to make their own decisions on whether an investment makes sense for them or not,’ he said. ‘It’s not for the government to tell them what to do.’

Source : Business Times – 13 Nov 2008

Sands skimps on Macau, bets on S’pore

Casino operator will scale back Cotai Strip development to focus on integrated resort here

WITH its resources curtailed by the downturn, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has been forced to weigh and choose – and it has decided to bet big on the construction at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and put its Macau expansion on the backburner for now.

As such, LVS expects to invest an additional US$500 million in equity in MBS through the targeted opening of the property in late 2009. This, after saying it could increase the number of gaming tables to a maximum of 1,000, up from 600 previously.

Making the announcement yesterday, LVS president and COO William Weidner said: ‘Given current conditions in the capital markets and the global economy and their impact on the company’s ongoing operations, the company has chosen to temporarily or indefinitely suspend portions of its development projects and will focus its development efforts on those projects with the highest rates of expected return on invested capital given the liquidity and capital resources available to the company today.’

Mr Weidner said it will ‘focus its development activities and available capital principally on the timely completion of both Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore, and Sands Bethlehem, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania’.

Consequently, LVS has decided to ’significantly slow the pace of our development activities on the Cotai Strip’.

In a separate statement, LVS chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson added: ‘Completing and opening Marina Bay Sands is the No 1 priority for our company.’

The company went on to give an operating profit guidance for 2012, including an annual operating profit of US$1.26 billion out of Singapore. Quizzed by a sceptical analyst, Mr Adelson said the numbers were ‘extraordinarily conservative’.

Speculation about delays had intensified last week after LVS made a regulatory filing that it was unlikely to meet the maximum leverage ratio covenant, triggering defaults on loans needed to complete projects.

‘Any rumour or speculation about our ability to complete this project has now been put to rest,’ said Mr Adelson, adding: ‘As part of my visit to Singapore last week, I assured the government we were very committed to the success of Marina Bay Sands and would have the funding necessary to complete this development. That is exactly where we stand today.’

LVS also announced that it is in the process of raising approximately US$2 billion in capital.

Mr Adelson added that this ensures adequate liquidity at the parent-company level, which will be used for the Singapore development.

As at Sept 30, total debt outstanding for LVS was US$10.35 billion. But LVS said that its S$5.44 billion credit facility to support the development of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore is in place.

To date, it has invested about US$1.81 billion in construction costs in the project, including land, and has contributed approximately US$616 million in equity. Its current estimated cost to complete the construction of the project is approximately US$2.7 billion, and it expects to fund 75-80 per cent of future construction costs through proceeds from its Singapore credit facility, of which approximately US$2 billion is available.

Jonathan Galaviz, a partner at Globalysis, a leisure sector strategy consultancy also saw positives in the Singapore market, while Macau’s hands were tied by visa restrictions on mainland Chinese visitors.

‘As financial pressure is exerted on Macau’s casino gaming operators, the operators of Singapore’s integrated resorts (IRs) should do well due to the fact that Singapore’s tax on gross gaming revenue is over 50 per cent less than that of Macau’s,’ he said.

LVS will suspend development on Sites 5 and 6 of the Cotai Strip, and JPMorgan Securities (Hong Kong) analyst Billy Ng said he is not surprised. ‘They had no choice. The market had expected this, or something even worse, to happen,’ he added.

Sites 5 and 6 include the Shangri-La/Traders hotel tower and the Sheraton hotel. These, Mr Ng, are already ‘half built’.

Yesterday, Macau’s Chief Executive Edmund Ho said his government was aware of LVS’s funding difficulties but had no plans to throw in financial assistance.

‘Because of its overleveraged borrowing in the US and around the world, it’s normal and expected that it has to suspend some of its projects,’ Mr Ho was reported as saying.

Asked about reports that a Chinese bank would extend a significant loan to LVS, he said the Macau government was not in a position to intervene.

According to a Citigroup report, while Macau gaming revenues are estimated to be 8.9 billion Macau patacas (S$1.69 billion) for October – a 26 per cent increase over September – it still represents a 3 per cent decline compared to a year ago. Citigroup analyst Anil Daswani does not forecast a relaxation in visa restrictions until the second half of next year.

In Singapore, CIMB analyst Kenneth Ng said: ‘Toning down development in Macau will be positive for Singapore.’ CIMB had earlier said it expected the Singapore government to take a stake in MBS if LVS should fail. Mr Ng said: ‘We have to wait and see.’

The prospects for MBS and LVS do look brighter now though.

LVS, which announced its third-quarter result yesterday, reported a net loss of US$32.2 million compared to a net loss of US$48.5 million a year ago.

Net revenue for the quarter increased 67.2 per cent to US$1.11 billion, compared to US$661 million a year ago. This was largely boosted by the net revenue contribution of US$522.4 million from Venetian Macao.

Mr Weidner added: ‘At an appropriate time in the future, to the extent capital becomes available on acceptable terms, we plan to resume the development of Sites 5 and 6 on the Cotai Strip.’

Source : Business Times – 12 Nov 2008

Analysts keen to cast CapitaLand as white knight

There is also talk that Temasek could take stake

CapitaLand is trying hard to play down expectations but in the eyes of some analysts, it has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to become Las Vegas Sands’ (LVS) white knight. The fact that CapitaLand had participated in the Request for Proposal for both integrated resort (IR) sites here is fanning such talk further.

A report by CIMB yesterday pointed out that few casino operators will have the ‘financial muscle’ to participate in the project, given that it expects the capital expenditure to be around $6.8 billion to $7 billion. ‘If this is the case, we estimate that any new equity partner – including CapitaLand – would need to set aside $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion of development funds while taking on the $5.44 billion of debt that has been arranged with banks,’ CIMB added.

As at Q308, CapitaLand has a net gearing ratio of 0.5 and a cash balance of $4.2 billion. It also has a dedicated integrated, leisure, entertainment and conventions business arm.

Given the size of the development, CIMB said that it believes that a viable option could be a 49:51 joint venture between the government and CapitaLand, with the latter taking a controlling stake.

However, CIMB also added that the sheer size of the project could be a ’strain’ even for CapitaLand.

Talk is also that Temasek, representing the government, could take stake. While there is no evidence of this, Bloomberg reported that according to JPMorgan Chase data, five-year credit-default swaps on Temasek, which manages about US$130 billion, advanced 15 basis points to 113 last Friday. Bloomberg said that the price, which climbs as perceptions of credit quality deteriorate, is equivalent to US$113,000 annually to protect US$10 million of bonds.

CapitaLand has denied taking an equity stake. ‘CapitaLand wishes to clarify that no discussion has transpired between itself and Sands,’ it said in a statement released yesterday.

But CapitaLand added that ‘in the present continuing global recessionary environment, (CapitaLand) is strategically watching the situation and studying opportunities related to distressed companies or assets, in Singapore and other core markets, that will have a strategic fit with its core business areas’.

Back in 2006, when the MGM-CapitaLand consortium lost the bid for the IR, CapitaLand chief executive Liew Mun Leong described the race as the ‘mother of all competition’ and the consortium’s defeat as ‘grossly disappointing and painful’.

He admitted that the company had made a ‘killer mistake’ in its bid with MGM Mirage – failing to give a higher priority to MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions), focusing instead on entertainment, retail, and food and beverage.

Still, what MGM Mirage chief Terrence Lanni said then seems to have come to pass. He said that of the four contenders, his company and CapitaLand would prove the least risky, owing to the depth of their experience and abilities.

‘When you’re going to do something like this and you’re trying something new, you want to get rid of all the imponderables that you possibly can. I think there’s less risk with us.’

Talk of LVS possibly filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection reached fever pitch last week when it said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it did not expect to comply with its maximum leverage ratio convenant for the fourth quarter and possibly even for the following quarters.

If LVS does default, its lenders could bring financing maturity dates forward.

According to CIMB, Singapore banks UOB, DBS and OCBC remain most exposed to mortgage-backed securities (MBS), totalling over $2.2 billion. Citigroup, Maybank and Standard Chartered have credit exposures of $262 million each while Sumitomo Mitsui and RBS are $240 million and $226 million exposed, respectively. Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Calyon have exposures of $160 million each and Merrill Lynch and Bank of Nova Scotia have exposures of $100 million and $93 million each, respectively.

To comply with the maximum leverage ratio convenant, LVS will need to reduce spending, obtain additional financing or increase adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) at its Las Vegas properties which can be achieved by contributing up to $50 million of capital from cash for the quarter.

Genting International’s Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) will not have these problems. CIMB said that parent Genting Group’s subsidiary Resorts World has net cash in excess of US$1.2 billion. CIMB said that Genting International has also fully contributed the entire $2 billion equity portion of the project and the $4.3 billion syndicated loan is in place.

Source : Business Times – 11 Nov 2008