Featured in this Asia Pacific Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 3 December 2004
Expansion plan for Sukhothai Hotel, Thailand
Australian Property Trust acquires City Pacific hotel
Ireka Hotels Sdn Bhd to refinance loan for Westin Kuala Lumpur
Taj Hotels Group to foray into Seychelles
Beijing New Century Hotel to be re-branded Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing
Visitor Arrivals to Hong Kong up 18.9% in October
Hong Kong’s Disneyland to open on September 12, 2005
Sunway City Berhad to sell stake in Sunway Resort Hotel
St. Regis Hotel breaks ground in Singapore
Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific announces Regent Bangkok


Expansion plan for Sukhothai Hotel, Thailand Return to Headlines
According to the Bangkok Post, HKR International, the Hong Kong-based property development firm, is set to expand its hotel property, namely The Sukhothai, in Thailand. The project is to develop a vacant land plot of over 10,500 square metres adjacent to the hotel, which is located on Bangkok's prime South Sathon Road. The project could be an extension of the hotel, a new spa or a sports facility. The final decision is expected to be made by March/April next year. In addition to the extension, the hotel is expected to undergo a renovation of the ballroom and adding spa treatment rooms following the completion of THB 5-million refurbishment of its restaurant and meeting rooms this year. The 224-room Sukhothai is managed by Beaufort Hotels, the hotel management arm of HKR International.

Australian Property Trust acquires City Pacific hotel Return to Headlines
Melbourne-based property investment company, Australian Property Trust announced the acquisition of the City Pacific Hotel in Wollongong, Australia. The hotel is expected to embark an A$3million facelift to upgrade the facilities, refit the lobby, add two new conference rooms and increase the number of rooms. The property will incorporate the Old crown Hotel, taking the number of available rooms from 61, plus two apartments, to a total of 70. Upon completion of the refurbishment by next year, the hotel will be re-branded Rydges Wollogong, under the management of the Rydges Hotels group.

Ireka Hotels Sdn Bhd to refinance loan for Westin Kuala Lumpur Return to Headlines
According to the Star newspaper, IREKA Corp Bhd subsidiary Ireka Hotels Sdn Bhd, which owns the Westin Kuala Lumpur, has signed a RM240mil syndicated loan agreement to refinance the cost of building the five-star hotel. Ireka Hotels signed the five-year term loan with Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd (lead arranger), Malayan Banking Bhd, DBS Bank Ltd (co-arranger), the Employees Provident Fund, and Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) Bhd in Kuala Lumpur. Westin KL was built at a cost of RM450million, inclusive of land.

Taj Hotels Group to foray into Seychelles Return to Headlines
Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces announced it took over management of Denis Island Resort in the Seychelles. The island resort has been renamed Taj Denis Island, Seychelles. Taj Denis Island offers 25 spacious villas, including the roomier family and executive villas.

Beijing New Century Hotel to be re-branded Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing Return to Headlines
The Beijing New Century Hotel in Beijing will be re-named Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing after Nikko Hotels International takes over the management of the hotel this month. Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing will be Nikko’s second hotel in Beijing, following the Jinglun Hotel. Opened in 1992, the hotel will undergo a renovation of its guestroom by February, 2005.

Visitor Arrivals to Hong Kong up 18.9% in October Return to Headlines
According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, visitor arrivals to Hong Kong increased by 18.9% to record approximately 2 million in October 2004 compared to the same corresponding month in 2003. All key feeder markets, except Taiwan, showed double-digit growth over their October 2003 performance, notably Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific, increasing by 30.9% compared to the same period last year, The Americas, 30.6%, North Asia, 23.8% and South & Southeast Asia, 21.5%. Boosted by National Day Golden Week holiday in October, arrivals from Mainland China increased by 22.9% from the previous corresponding period to record 1 million arrivals. Year-t-date October hotels’ marketwide average occupancy stands at 86%, compared with only 66% for the same period in 2003 and 83% in 2002. The hotels’ marketwide average room rate is HK$789, a significant improvement on the HK$664 recorded for this period in 2003 and HK$706 in 2002.

Hong Kong’s Disneyland to open on September 12, 2005 Return to Headlines
According to the Hong Kong Government and Walt Disney Co., Hong Kong's Disneyland theme park will open on Sept. 12, 2005. The admission price for adults was set at HK$295 (US$37.8) per head during the week and HK$350 on weekends and peak days. The construction of the US$1.8 billion park, located on the Lantau Island, has created 11,400 jobs during construction and another 18,000 are expected to be created in phases by the opening. The Hong Kong Disneyland project will generate an estimated $148 billion boost to the economy over a 40 year period in terms of value added, such as employment income and profits for small and large companies in Hong Kong.

Sunway City Berhad to sell stake in Sunway Resort Hotel Return to Headlines
According to the Star newspaper, Sunway City Berhad (SunCity) will be selling a 48% stake in Sunway Resort Hotel Sdn Bhd to GIC Real Estate for RM170.2mil to repay interest-bearing liabilities and pare down borrowings. This is the second major investment in the SunCity Group by GIC Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp Pte Ltd (GIC), through Reco Resort Hotel Pte Ltd. In February 2000, GIC invested RM362mil to take up 5% in the SunCity group and 48% in Sunway Pyramid shopping mall. Sunway Resort Hotel, which operates SunCity's hotel business, has three hotels in its stable – the 440-room, five-star Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel, the new 550-room Pyramid Hotel and 17 villas. The sale in Sunway Resort Hotel would reduce SunCity's net gearing ratio to 0.58 times, from 0.68 times, and improve its net tangible asset (NTA) per share to RM1.94, from RM1.87. Additionally, the group is able to pare down its borrowings from more than RM900 million in 1999 to approximately RM500 million now.

St. Regis Hotel breaks ground in Singapore Return to Headlines
According to Singapore Business Times, Hong Leong Group will jointly develop a S$900 million project comprising a luxury hotel and 255 luxury apartments. The project is located on a 180,000 sq ft site at Tanglin and Tomlinson roads. The groundbreaking ceremony took place this month and the project is expected to be completed in late 2007. The 299-room hotel will be branded and managed under the Starwood Group’s St. Regis brand whilst the apartment will be known as the St. Regis Residences. The St. Regis Residences will comprises condominium facilities and 23 two-bedroom units, 87 three-bedroom units, 141 four-bedroom units and four penthouses.

Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific announces Regent Bangkok Return to Headlines
Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific announced the planned development of a fourth Regent hotel for the Asia Pacific region. The company confirmed The Regent Bangkok Hotel & Residences is scheduled to open mid 2007. Owned and developed by Grande Asset Public Company Limited, the luxury hotel and residence complex will be located on Sukhumvit Road and will begin construction on this project in January 2005. The hotel will feature 327 luxurious rooms including 23 suites on 28 above-ground levels, while the residential development, branded The Regent Residences, will include 350 stylish condominiums. In addition, the Regent Bangkok will also include five levels of public space featuring an extensive retail area, high-end restaurant and bar outlets, a 650 square metre ballroom, parking area for 200 cars, and a roof-top health club with swimming pool and spa.

Absolute Share Price Performance, as at 3 December 2004