SINGAPORE, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The recently announced results of the two Singapore casino resorts showed that they have been generating huge revenues in their first year of operation and attracting many visitors to Singapore. They were estimated to have contributed 1.7 percent of Singapore's nominal gross domestic product.

Analysts has said they expected Singapore to overtake South Korea and Australia this year to become the second largest casino market in Asia Pacific after China's Macao Special Administrative Region.

REVENUE JUMP

Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands had been in what is close to a race against each other since their respective inauguration in the first half of last year.

Resorts World Sentosa contributed an adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of 1.42 billion Singapore dollars (1.11 billion U.S. dollars) in its first year of business to its mother firm Genting Singapore, with 389.8 million Singapore dollars (304.5 million U.S. dollars) in the fourth quarter. The revenue of the casino resort was 775.2 million Singapore dollars (605.6 million U.S. dollars) in the fourth quarter alone.

Genting Singapore said on Tuesday its revenue jumped to 2.75 billion Singapore dollars (2.15 billion U.S. dollars) in 2010, from only 49.5 million Singapore dollars (38.6 million U.S. dollars) in 2009.

The casino resort welcomed 15 million visitors in 2010, Genting Singapore said, adding that the theme park Universal Studios Singapore had more than 2 million visitors last year.

Marina Bay Sands, the other casino resorts comprising theatres, shops and exhibition and convention operations, reported EBITA of 305.8 million U.S. dollars in the fourth quarter, following a record 246 million U.S. dollars in the third quarter.

1.7 PERCENT OF GDP

The two casino resorts were estimated to have contributed 3.7 billion Singapore dollars (2.9 billion U.S. dollars), or 1.7 percent of nominal gross domestic product in the first nine months of 2010, official statistics showed.

The sum is almost half of the 7.9 billion Singapore dollars (6. 2 billion U.S. dollars) contributed by the tourism industry.

It also means Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa are now well on track to surpass the 5.4 billion Singapore dollars (4. 2 billion U.S. dollars) they were expected to jointly generate by 2015.

Analysts said they were not surprised, given that both resorts have reported strong quarterly results.

The pre-tax profit of Resorts World Sentosa was 346.5 million Singapore dollars (270.7 million U.S. dollars).

The casino resort welcomed 15 million visitors in 2010, Genting Singapore said, adding that the theme park Universal Studios Singapore had more than 2 million visitors last year.

The resorts had also been successful in helping attract overseas visitors to Singapore with not only the casino but also their world-class convention and exhibition facilities and hotels. A gallery owner at a major art fair staged in January at Marina Bay Sands said she expected the show to be successful and grow bigger partly thanks to the facility.

SECOND LARGEST IN ASIA PACIFIC

Analysts expected the two resorts to continue to grow their operations and revenues.

Resorts World Sentosa is home to a casino, four hotels and the Universal Studios Singapore theme park, and construction was still going on at full steam. The Maritime Experimental Museum and Aquarium are scheduled to open in mid-2011, and Genting said it expected daily park attendance at Universal Studios Singapore to more than double this year.

Marina Bay Sands is also opening new facilities. Last week it inaugurated the ArtScience Museum, a lotus-inspired landmark just alongside the main building at Marina Bay, with three exhibitions of ancient Chinese culture. Las Vegas Sands, the mother firm of Marina Bay Sands has voiced that it would want more land to expand its exhibition and convention wing.

In a recent report, financial consultancy PricewatherhouseCoopers (PwC) said Singapore is set to overtake South Korea and Australia this year to become the second largest casino market in Asia Pacific.

"Singapore has made a dramatic entry to the casino gaming market," said Greg Unsworth, PwC Singapore's Technology Infocomm Entertainment and Media Industry Leader.

PwC estimated Singapore's casino gaming market at 2.8 billion Singapore dollars (2.19 billion U.S. dollars) last year.

"In 2011, with a full-year's operation for both resorts, we expect revenues to reach 5.5 billion U.S. dollars, growing to 8.3 billion U.S. dollars by 2014," it said.