St. Regis Jakarta and The Residences to Debut in 2019

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced, on February 4, the debut of its ultra-luxury brand St. Regis, in the capital city of Indonesia. Starwood will operate St. Regis Jakarta and The Residences under a management agreement with developer Rajawali Property Group; the property is anticipated to open in 2019, with 280 guestrooms and suites as well as 164 units of branded residences. Located along Jalan H.R. Rasuna Said, Kuningan in South Jakarta, the development will be a stone’s throw from the Ritz-Carlton Mega Kuningan. The Jakarta hotel market, which currently boasts a supply of 2,658 rooms in its upper-upscale and luxury space collectively, is no stranger to mixed-use developments consisting of luxury hotels with up-market branded or private residences. St. Regis Jakarta and The Residences will be joining a number of successful developments of its nature including the Keraton-Luxury Collection, Raffles Jakarta and Residences, the Ritz-Carlton Mega Kuningan and Airlangga Residences, as well as pipeline developments like the Langham Hotel and District 8 Residences and the Regent Hotel and Residences.

Hotel Okura Penetrates Cambodia’s Luxury Hotel Market

Hotel Okura Co. Ltd has announced, on February 8, its signing of a management contract to develop the Okura Prestige Phnom Penh with TEHO Development Cambodia Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of TEHO International, which is a Singapore-listed multinational soulutions provider. The 250-key property will be part of The Bay, a larger mixed-use development consisting of residential and commercial components, located 17 kilometres from Phnom Penh International Airport. With this signing, Hotel Okura will be the first Japanese hotel chain to penetrate the luxury hotel market in Cambodia. Cambodia has witnessed encouraging growth in international tourist arrivals in the last five years at a CAGR of 12.41% between 2010 and 2014, driven largely by arrivals to its two international airports in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh International Airport saw a 9.7% year-on-year growth in arrivals in 2014.

SAMHI Hotels Buys Pune Hyatt Regency for INR350 crore

Hotel development and investment firm SAMHI Hotels has acquired the Hyatt Regency in Pune from Ascent Hotels for an estimated INR350 crore. Opened in 2012 within Weikfield IT Park, Hyatt Regency Pune is a five-star property with 222 rooms and 102 fully serviced apartments. It will be SAMHI's third property in Pune, after two Formule 1 branded hotels. Five year old SAMHI, which recently announced INR441cr equity investment by Goldman Sachs has rapidly expanded its portfolio of branded hotels in India and currently owns over 2,500 rooms across 15 operating hotels. Ascent Hotels Pvt. Ltd. is owned and managed by the real-estate and hospitality conglomerate, RK Jatia Group. Vascon, which is an existing shareholder in Ascent, will continue to serve as an investor via convertible debentures.

Erawan Group Plans 10 billion baht for Hotels Expansion

Erawan Group plans to invest up to 10 billion baht over the next five years, mainly to expand its budget hotel brand Hop Inn in Thailand and the Philippines. The group intends to invest half of the budget in Thailand, while earmarking up to 30% in the Philippines. The remaining budget amount will be used for acquiring mid-scale and budget hotels in other countries for asset improvement. The group is looking at nearly doubling its capacity from 5,676 rooms in 33 hotels to 10,000 rooms in 95 hotels across Southeast Asia by 2020. The group expects its Hop Inn chain to operate 50 hotels in Thailand and 20 hotels in the Philippines. The group’s revenue is projected to surge 15% this year from 5.3 billion baht last year. The revenue is anticipated to reach 10 billion baht by 2020 with an annual average growth of 11% between 2017 and 2020. Furthermore, Erawan Group will issue a REIT worth 1.5 to 1.7 billion baht this year to manage its assets, pay out dividends and make future business investments.

Absolute Share Price Performance, as on 11 Feb 2016