Genting Grandsons Want Australian Bet Operator

Two grandsons of Genting founder Lim Goh Tong, nephews of current CEO and chairman KT Lim: Joey Lim Keong Yew and Ben Lim Keong Hoe have been identified as the men behind a reverse takeover maneuver targeted at TwoWay Limited, an important company in internet betting in Australia.

TwoWay has been developing interactive television and online betting applications to the Australian market. The company has a market capitalization of AUS 4.5 million and operates under the guiding Australian gambling laws.

The two Genting grandsons are rumored to be trying to control the Australian company in order to build a casino and leisure facility in the South East Asian region. The deal is supposed to prepare TwoWay for the acquisition of a 75 percent majority stake in a Vietnam casino complex.

If the shareholders vote yes on November 2, Donaco Singapore will acquire 95 percent of Two Way, and will be renamed Donaco International. Joey Lim denied any financial ties between Genting and Donaco.

At the same time, the family-related Genting group is also trying to acquire Australia's Echo Entertainment. Australian gambling billionaire James Packer has also set his eyes on the casino company, so an exciting clash of titans is expected.

Lim revealed in an interview with the Australian gambling news: "They are two isolated events that just so happened to happen at the same time. We have both have our own individual objectives and targets and we will pursue them independently and objectively."

Donaco’s focus will be on the Lao Cai International casino and hotel complex in Vietnam, but plans are rumored to be about opening two similar-sized gambling projects as well as a casino cruise ship.

The new Lao Cai is designed to be a 428-room hotel with a casino, offering 26 gaming tables and 150 slot machines. The renovation is due to be ready next year, and is expected to bring a serious revenue increase.

Mak Siew Wei, an executive director of Donaco who will join the Two Way board, said two similar casino-hotel projects in two other Asian countries were "far along" the planning stages, but declined to give more details due to the sensitivity of licensing negotiations.