Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay resigns from Genting Hong Kong as cruise company heads for liquidation

Lim stepped down as chairman, CEO and executive director of Genting Hong Kong with effect from January 21, the company said in a stock exchange filing

Genting Hong Kong reported a record US$1.7 billion loss in May and has seen its stock plunge more than 50 per cent since the start of 2020

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A Genting cruise ship is seen in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour in 2021. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 1:06pm, 24 Jan 2022

Malaysian casino magnate and billionaire Lim Kok Thay has resigned from insolvent cruise and shipbuilding concern Genting Hong Kong, days after the company filed to wind up its business in one of the biggest stumbles by a cruise operator since the pandemic began.

Lim, who owns 76 per cent of Genting Hong Kong, stepped down as chairman, CEO and executive director of the company with effect from January 21, it said in a stock exchange filing. Au Fook Yew also resigned as deputy CEO and president. Neither man has any disagreement with the board, the company said.

More than two years into the global health crisis, Lim’s company is headed for liquidation – and there are signs that operations are unravelling. US authorities stand ready to seize a Genting ship in Miami over unpaid fuel bills, while online bookings for some cruises have been suspended. The company’s shares are halted in Hong Kong.

Lim Kok Thay has stepped down as chairman, CEO and executive director of Genting Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

Genting Hong Kong is a stark example of how the virus has brought once-thriving businesses to their knees.

Lim founded in 1993 the company that would later become Genting Hong Kong, partly as a way of diversifying risk away from the Genting group’s flagship casino resort in Malaysia. Some three decades on, the billionaire has resigned and the cruise business is buckling.

Still, the company’s woes may not have major ramifications for other Genting operations. Businesses in Malaysia and Singapore – Genting Bhd., Genting Singapore Ltd. and Genting Malaysia Bhd. – have no cross shareholdings with Genting Hong Kong except for Lim Kok Thay being a common stakeholder in all four.

While Genting Hong Kong offered “seacations” as part of a broader trend of cruises to nowhere, it still reported a record US$1.7 billion loss in May and its stock has plunged more than 50 per cent since the start of 2020. The company said in its winding-up petition that its cash was expected to run out around the end of January and it had no access to further funding.