KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): Genting Malaysia Bhd (GenM) has accepted a US$175 million (RM707 million) loan from US bank Wells Fargo for a piece of vacant land at its Resorts World Casino New York City.

In a report Feb 23, legal news service Law360 reported that the loan is for a plot of non-residential land on 110-00 Rockway Boulevard, which is the site of the casino. GenM’s wholly-owned unit Genting New York LLC is the borrower for the deal.

“It wasn't immediately clear what the borrower plans to do with the land or the proceeds from the US$175 million loan.

"The resort is in the midst of a US$400 million property addition that includes a new Hyatt Regency hotel, additional dining options and more gaming areas, according to the casino's website,” Law360 reported.

It added that San Diego-based law firm Latham & Watkins LLP partner Sony Ben-Moshe worked on the deal. However, it is not immediately clear what role he played. He co-chairs Latham’s gaming and hospitality and Latin America practices.

As it currently stands, the casino has more than 6,500 slots and table games across three levels. The casino is currently open, and is subject to local Covid-19 restrictions and standard operating procedures.  

Shares in GenM were trading 0.7% or two sen higher at 11:50am at RM2.88, resulting in it carrying a market capitalisation of RM17.1 billion. It saw 5.95 million shares done at the time of writing.