Genting to spend $3-4 bln on developing unfinished Las Vegas resort

(Corrects to Twentieth Century Fox from Twenty-First Century Fox in 4th paragraph)

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Genting Bhd, Southeast Asia's largest gaming and leisure group, will spend $3 billion to $4 billion developing an unfinished resort on the Las Vegas strip, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

Genting bought the resort from Boyd Gaming Corp earlier this year for $350 million, in its first push into the U.S. gambling mecca dominated by the likes of Las Vegas Sands .

"We are looking at $3-4 billion in total if we get approval for a casino licence (in Las Vegas)," Chief Executive Officer Lim Kok Thay, who was widely credited with the company's global expansion, told reporters.

Lim was speaking after the launch of Genting's $400 million project to build a theme park with Twentieth Century Fox for its hilltop casino in Malaysia.

The project is part of a five-year investment plan by subsidiary Genting Malaysia Bhd to spend close to $1 billion to spruce up Malaysia's only casino, which is facing increased competition as other countries in the region open up to gaming companies. (Reporting by Siva Sithraputhran; Writing by Niluksi Koswanage; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Louise Heavens)