Phuket Light Rail System

Phuket, one of the region’s most popular tourist destinations, will see improvements to its transportation infrastructure in an attempt to ease congestion. The new 24 billion bhat (US$736.2 million) light rail system will consist of 20 stations spanning 60 km across the island. The system, due to commence operations in 2021, will traverse from Tha Noon, across Sarasin Bridge, to Phuket Town and to Chalong Circle; the line will also be connected to the Phuket International Airport. Commuters will benefit from a much reduced travel time of about 1.5 hours from Tha Noon to Chalong. Concerns have been raised over the rising number of tourists to the resort destination and the lack of adequate infrastructure to cope with this influx of visitors. This new development is expected to ease congestion and improve visitor experience.

Bvlgari Enters The Maldives

Marriott International together with India’s Panchshil Realty plans to open an 82-room Bvlgari resort in the Maldives. The luxury resort, expected to commence operations as early as 2018, will be Marriot International’s first property at this resort destination and will be located within the Raa Atoll, Northwest of Malé. The Maldives has long been regarded as a luxury getaway, with a number of resorts vying for the high-end luxury segment. The market within the Maldives has remained strong with 1.2 million visitor arrivals to the destination in 2014, an increase of 7.1% as compared to 2013. Chinese travellers, who make up 30% of all travellers in 2014, accounted for most of this growth with an increase in visitors by 9.6%. Similarly, South East Asian travellers who constitute 4.7% of the market also saw a robust growth of 37.3%.

ASEAN Open Skies

Talks for an ASEAN Open Sky Agreement, otherwise known as ‘ASEAN Single Aviation Market’ (ASEAN-SAM), have progressed with three multilateral agreements which include ASEAN Multilateral Agreement of the Full Liberalisation of Air Freight Services, ASEAN Multilateral Agreement on Air Services and ASEAN Multilateral Agreement on the Full Liberalisation of Passenger Air Services. Developments in the Open Sky Agreement would grant airlines greater flexibility and efficiency at improving connectivity around the region. Domestic routes however will continue to be regulated by the respective countries. With the deregulation of regional air routes through the implementation of ASEAN-SAM, we would most likely see a surge in connectivity within the region and increased competition amongst airlines.

Andaz in Singapore

The 340-luxury room hotel is expected to open its doors as early as 2017. Located in Singapore’s Ophir – Rochor district, within close proximity of Bugis and Arab Street area, the Andaz will be part of a mixed use development ‘DUO’ - a joint development by M+S Pte Ltd (60%) and Temasek Holdings (40%). DUO will include 660 premium residences, 53,000 sq. metre of office space and 5,200 sq. metre of retail space. The hotel will be located a few blocks from the new 654-room South Beach Hotel which is due to open later this year. We will likely see the landscape of the arts and cultural district of Bugis evolve beyond the existing traditional brands, with the entry of these two lifestyle properties.

Absolute Share Price Performance, as on 30 January 2015