Singapore Growth

The U.S. and many other parts of the world may be suffering from a business recessions but business is booming in Singapore. Obviously that makes Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) very happy.

For the second quarter that ended on June 30, Singapore officials said the gross domestic product grew by 19.3 percent when compared to a year earlier. This is the fastest growth reported by the Trade and Industry Ministry since the government began releasing quarterly GDP figures in 1975.

Based on recent experience, ministry officials said they could raise their forecast for the entire calendar year to a range of 13 percent to 15 percent. The previous forecast was for 7 to 9 percent.

Major contributors to the recent spike in GDP, said officials, were the developments of Genting and Las Vegas Sands, the two companies that have been licensed to build casino/entertainment complexes. The two properties were credited with boosting construction by 13.5 percent while increasing services by 11.4 percent.

“The casinos obviously did their bit,” said an analyst in a clients’ note. “We were surprised by the resilience of construction and services. This suggests that domestic demand is still red-hot.”

Singapore, reportedly the home of the highest percentage of millionaires in the world, is a tiny island city-state that many economists see as a barometer of world demand because its economy that is built on manufacturing and services like finance, is one of the most export-reliant in Asia.

Adelson, in commenting on the success of his company’s casino, says that the property is expected to show incredibly high cash flow.

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