Singapore – Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. (HET), Keppel Land Ltd. and SMG announced on December 13 that they have signed an exclusive “tie up” agreement with Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre to develop the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) market in Singapore if they win the bid to build a casino resort at Marina Bay.
“Our strategic alliance with Suntec will ensure that our design concept complements the current offerings on Marina Bay, rather than compete with them,” said Gregg Caren, SMG’s VP of Business Development in the Asia Pacific Region. Suntec offers 100,000 square meters of exhibition space (about 1,076,000 square feet). “We are very excited about joining forces with Harrah’s, Keppel Land and SMG whom we know and respect, having worked together on several successful projects,” said Warren Buckley, CEO of Suntec Singapore. Buckley says the strong team will be a powerful force in attracting new business to Singapore and setting new standards in the MICE industry in Asia. Caren says, “Our long term plans will have us working directly with Suntec to sell the new package of offerings to convention and trade show organizers. The goal is to ensure that we attract new, incremental business to the region in accordance with the objectives of the RFP.”
Other recent strategic alliances signed are with CEMS, a Singapore-based exhibition organizer, and with France’s Centre Pompidou to create a cultural center in the proposed resort.
Besides the Harrah’s-Keppel-SMG consortium, other bidders for the Marina Bay casino resort include the MGM Mirage and CapitaLand Ltd. team; Las Vegas Sands Corp.; Genting International PLC; and a consortium of Australia’s Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. and Hong Kong’s Melco International Development Ltd.
The tender for the Marina Bay casino closes March 29, 2006.
Reach Gregg Caren, SMG’s VP of Business Development in the Asia Pacific Region at (215) 592-6644 or gcaren@smgworld.com; Warren Buckley, chief executive officer, Suntec at 65 6337 2888 or warren.buckley@suntecsingapore.com.
