* Stocks have outperformed Malaysian market in 2009
* Company faces high preopening expenses in one casino
NEW YORK, July 5 (Reuters) - Gaming group Genting
(GENT.KL), whose shares have outperformed the Malaysian stock
market this year, is undervalued and its stock should keep
rising despite concerns about its casino operations, Barron's
said.
The company -- which also operates palm oil plantations,
develops and manages property, and is in the paper,
oil-and-gas, financial services, and tourism business -- has
seen its stock soar 57 percent this year to 5.80 Malaysian
ringgit, outperforming the Malaysia index.
However, the group's first-quarter net profit fell almost
50 percent, hurt by weaker revenue at its casinos in Britain
and by lower plantation earnings.
Genting has said that a lower-than-expected power tariff
rise in China and an expected surge in costs for its new casino
in Singapore will also weigh on future earnings, raising
investors' concerns.
But the company -- with a market value of about $6 billion
-- is worth more given the growth outlook of Asia, Barron's
said, citing David Winters, manager of Wintergreen Fund.
"This is one of the great Asian success stories," Winters
said, quoted by the business weekly publication in its July 6
edition.
Genting is the only casino license holder in mostly-Muslim
Malaysia, and is building a casino resort in neighboring
Singapore.
(Reporting by Juan Lagorio; editing by Matthew Lewis )
