{"id":777047132,"date":"2026-09-08T10:33:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T13:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777047132"},"modified":"2026-09-08T11:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T14:35:16","slug":"fitch-cuts-genting-malaysia-rating-amid-expansion-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/fitch-cuts-genting-malaysia-rating-amid-expansion-spending","title":{"rendered":"Fitch cuts Genting Malaysia rating amid expansion spending"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rating agency points to sustained capital outlays, negative free cash flow and slower debt reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Key takeaways<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fitch cut Genting Malaysia\u2019s rating to BBB- from BBB.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Genting still has more than S$4bn to spend on Resorts World Sentosa and US$3.7bn on the New York project<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fitch forecasts 2 per cent growth for the Malaysian business in 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Malaysia.- Fitch Ratings has lowered Genting Malaysia Berhad\u2019s long-term issuer default rating to BBB- from BBB, citing high capital spending and slower deleveraging as the group expands its casino operations in Asia and the US. The agency also downgraded the rating on Genting Malaysia\u2019s US$1bn senior unsecured notes due in 2031 to BBB-. Both ratings carry a Stable Outlook, meaning Fitch does not currently expect another rating change in the near term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The downgrade reflects Fitch\u2019s view that Genting Malaysia will face continued pressure from major expansion projects, particularly in Singapore and New York. Higher spending is expected to keep free cash flow negative and slow debt reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Singapore, Genting is expanding Resorts World Sentosa, with more than S$4bn (US$3.2bn) in committed capital expenditure still to be spent through 2030. Fitch forecasts the operation\u2019s gaming revenue to remain flat in 2026 as the resort continues renovating its hotels and casino areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Genting is also investing heavily in Resorts World New York City. Of the US$4.4bn remaining from its expansion commitment, around US$700m has already been spent, including US$500m on the casino licence. The remaining US$3.7bn is forecast to be spent over the next five years, at an average of about US$800m a year over the medium term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fitch has lowered its 2026 EBITDA forecast for Genting New York from US$215m to US$208m due to higher start-up costs. EBITDA is forecast to reach around US$450m by 2028 as more table games and slot machines are added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Revenue from its Malaysian operations rose 1 per cent year on year in the first half of 2026. Fitch projects the Malaysian business to grow by around 2 per cent for the full year. However, it warned that high airfares and economic uncertainty could continue to affect both international tourist arrivals and domestic traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of June, Genting Malaysia had MYR3.8bn (US$957m) in cash and cash equivalents against around MYR2.5bn (US$630m) in short-term borrowings. Fitch expects the group\u2019s revenue to grow at a compound annual rate of 10 per cent in 2026 and 2027, while its EBITDA margin is forecast to average 27 per cent between 2026 and 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"see-also-container\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label\">See also:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-article\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"related-article__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/photo-1628348068343-c6a848d2b6dd-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"related-article__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label-strong\">See also:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/maybank-cuts-genting-malaysias-2026-earnings-forecast-by-28\">Maybank cuts Genting Malaysia earnings forecast by 28%<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The rating agency points to sustained capital outlays, negative free cash flow and slower debt reduction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2395,"featured_media":26758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Fitch Ratings has downgraded Genting Malaysia Berhad's long-term issuer default rating to BBB- from BBB, citing sustained high capital expenditure on its Resorts World Sentosa and New York expansion projects, leading to negative free cash flow and slower debt reduction. The downgrade reflects ongoing financial pressure from these significant investments, with a Stable Outlook indicating no immediate further rating changes are expected.","focusai_entities":"Fitch Ratings, Genting Malaysia Berhad, Genting, Maybank","focusai_location":"Malaysia, Singapore, New York, United States","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (0.75), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (0.98), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Capital Structure Impact","query":"How might this credit rating downgrade influence Genting Malaysia's future capital raising efforts and the cost of debt for its ongoing and planned integrated resort developments?"},{"label":"Project Timeline Risks","query":"What are the potential implications of sustained negative free cash flow and slower debt reduction on the projected timelines and scope of the Resorts World Sentosa and New York expansion projects?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16338,163],"tags":[19394,24812,169],"class_list":["post-777047132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-asia-news","category-finance-news","tag-genting-malaysia","tag-new-york","tag-singapore"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777047132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777047132"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777047132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777047141,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777047132\/revisions\/777047141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777047132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777047132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777047132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}