KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Genting Malaysia has pushed back the opening of its 20th Century Fox World theme park by a year, setting a 2017 target as the ringgit continues its slump over the past year, a report said.
The management of Genting Malaysia — a unit of gaming conglomerate Genting — has opted to delay its initial opening date in late 2016 while they review the cost of the RM1 billion project due to the ringgit's sharp depreciation, according to a report by the Nikkei Asian Review.
The Japanese publication cited CIMB Research as saying that the ringgit's poor performance will likely increase capital spending on the project "marginally" due to the need to import equipment for the theme park.
The theme park, measuring over 100,000 square metres, is slated to have 25 rides inspired by popular movie titles under the Twentieth Century Fox Film stable.
The project is part of a RM5 billion makeover of the Genting Highlands resort, which started in December 2013 and scheduled to be completed in 10 years.
Genting Malaysia recently issued RM2.4 billion in medium-term bond notes to raise working capital, part of which will be used to finance the Genting Highlands project.
