| Featured in this Asia Pacific Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 11 June 2004 |
| Ascott sells Scotts Shopping Centre and the Ascott Singapore serviced residence | Return to Headlines |
| The Ascott Group, the service residence arm of CapitaLand Limited, has entered into an agreement with Marco Polo Developments to sell its Scotts Shopping Centre and The Ascott Singapore serviced residence at Scotts Road in Singapore for S$345 million. The five-storey retail mall and 153-unit serviced residence above the mall occupy a 6,609 sqm freehold site along Orchard Road. The Ascott will continue to manage the divested serviced residence until end 2006. The sale of the property is part of the group strategy to divest its non-core assets and to focus on its core serviced residence business. Outside Asia, the group recently formed a marketing alliance with the serviced residence arm of Equity Residential, a publicly-traded apartment company in the US, to provide serviced apartments throughout the USA. Furthermore, Ascott acquired the remaining 50% interest in the Citadines chain for Euro 74.3 million. Citadines operates over 5,100 serviced apartments in major European cities such as Paris, London, Brussels, Barcelona and Berlin. By acquiring the remaining stake, it will be able to fully integrate the European chain with the rest of its operations to achieve greater economies of scale. | |
| Wynn to add a resort in Macau | Return to Headlines |
| Las Vegas casino tycoon Steve Wynn plans to build a US$705 million resort in Macau. The resort will comprise 600 rooms, a 100,000-square-foot casino, seven restaurants, 28,000 square feet of retail space, a spa, a salon, show rooms and entertainment centres. The resort will be built on a 16-acre parcel in Macau's inner harbour area. Wynn is leasing the 16 acres from the government for 25 years with renewal rights. The company will pay the government US$4 million a year for 10 years in rent. In addition, Wynn will pay US$17 million to the Nam Van Development Co., one of Ho's affiliate companies, to relinquish its rights to a portion of the parcel. Construction is scheduled to begin this month and be completed by September 2006. Last week, Wynn Resorts signed an underwriting agreement with Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong, and Societe Generale Asia Ltd. for a loan of $397 million to finance the development and construction of the project. | |
| Shangri-La Ningbo breaks ground | Return to Headlines |
| Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announced the opening of a five-star hotel in Ningbo in Zhejiang province, China. Scheduled to open in 2007, the Shangri-La Hotel, Ningbo will be located in the commercial district in Jiangdong Street. The hotel will comprise 550 rooms, 5 food & beverage outlets and 2,000-square-metre grand ballroom. | |
| Accor to launch Ibis brand in Bali | Return to Headlines |
| Accor is to introduce its economy hotel brand, Ibis, in Bali, with the opening of Ibis Legian Bali in early 2005. The Ibis Legian Bali will be located between Kuta and Seminyak. The hotel is currently undergoing an US$2 million renovation that includes the addition of 33 new rooms and other improvements. Once completed, the hotel will offer 109 rooms. Following the opening of Ibis Legian Bali, Accor will manage five hotels in Bali including Sofitel Seminyak - Bali (rebranding late 2004), Novotel Benoa Bali, Mercure Kuta, Mercure Resort Sanur (opening late November 2004) and Ibis Legian Bali. | |
| Duangtawan Hotel opens in Chiang Mai | Return to Headlines |
| The five-star Duangtawan Hotel, opened in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The hotel, which was acquired for approximately THB1 billion, has undergone a THB300 million renovations. The hotel comprises 300 rooms, a convention centre with capacity for 800 people, a restaurant, a fitness centre and a spa. | |
