Genting Hong Kong has received “indicative letters” from private investors interested in investing in one of its cruise brands, it has confirmed in a regulatory filing.
The company said that there is a “reasonable prospect” that the group will be able to obtain the necessary funding “within the next 12 months”.
Separately, Genting Hong Kong has named founder Colin Au as its new deputy chief executive with immediate effect. He replaces current incumbent Lim Keong Hui.
Chief executive of the company is Genting Group chairman Lim Kok Thay, who will stay on in that position, according to a regulatory filing.
Au, aged 71, currently serves as the group president of the company, a position he has held since March 2017. He is said to have “pioneered the Asian cruise business 27 years ago”.
Au is responsible for Genting Cruise Lines, a collection of three cruise brands – Dream Cruises, Star Cruises and Crystal Cruises.
He is also responsible for MV Werften Holdings, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary that owns four German shipyards in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Last week Genting Hong Kong reported a net loss of $742.6m for the first half of 2020 against a loss of just $56.5m 12 months earlier.
The company said this year’s loss included impairments of $386.6m including among other things losses on refinancing of debt for the 150,000-gt Genting Dream (built 2016).
Genting said it has cancelled most sailings and suspended almost all of its cruise operations since February 2020 and shipyard operations since March 2020 due to Covid-19.
However, with the support from the relevant authorities in Taiwan, Dream Cruises’ 2,800-berth Explorer Dream (built 1999) was given the approval to operate two, three and four night “Taiwan Island-Hopping” cruises departing from Keelung to Kinmen, Penghu and Matsu islands –making Taiwan one of the earlier markets to reopen cruise travel.
Genting said the market response to the Explorer Dream deployment had been “very encouraging” with regulated first sailing at occupancy rate of 50% on 26 July 2020 rising progressively to 96% on the 23 to 26 August 2020 cruises.
Furthermore, Genting said it had been informed by the Hainan Commercial Bureau that Dream Cruises was “welcomed to commence domestic cruise operation from Sanya”.
Genting said it was also in the process of negotiation with other regional governments to start domestic cruises.
