From Morocco to the Maldives and China to Chile, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is due to open more than 70 new properties during the course of 2005 and 2006 in various destinations around the globe. Nearly half of these new hotels are outside of the United States and involve 15 countries. According to Steven J. Heyer, Starwood's Chief Executive Officer, the W and St. Regis brands are very sought after by the development community and the Westin brand was actually the world's fastest growing upper upscale brand in 2004. Not to be outdone, Hilton Worldwide Resorts has unveiled a portfolio that is set to double in size after just two years of its launch. By the end of 2007, the luxury holiday properties are anticipated to become 73, after launching 36 resorts in 2002. Through a combination of new resort openings and conversions of Hilton hotel properties to resort properties, 13 more resorts will be added this year. New properties will open in Barbados, Egypt, and in the Philippines. This year the Conrad Phuket Resort and Spa and the Hilton Krabi Resort and Spa are slated to open later than scheduled, following the Indian Ocean tsunami - although the properties were not damaged, the local workforce has been redirected to the recovery effort. Further openings scheduled for 2006 include an eco-lodge in the Amazon, the Hilton Margaret River Vineyard Resort and Spa in Australia and the Hilton Sanya Resort and Spa in Hainan, China.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc (M&C), the London-listed international hotel arm of the Hong Leong Group Singapore proposed a special dividend this week after its net profit for the fourth quarter ending 31 December 2004 more than trebled for the second straight quarter following the sale of its half of The Plaza Hotel in New York last year. Fourth quarter income climbed to US$88.8million from US$26.9million a year ago. RevPAR jumped 11 per cent in the quarter and advanced 7.9 per cent from the year-end through 14 February 2005. In the last quarter of 2004, M&C hotels portfolio achieved an overall occupancy of 72.9%, up from 69.1% a year before. RevPAR growth was also aided by the increase in room rates in its hotels worldwide. From the sale of its half of The Plaza in New York, M&C made a pre-tax profit of US$96.6million. This amount served to aid its recovery in the decline in demand due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the backlash from the war in Iraq, The US$698.5million deal was the largest single hotel asset sale in New York. M&C plans to expand its portfolio in the UK to as many as 20 in the next three to five years from its current 11 properties. M&C owns and operates 88 hotels in 16 countries.

Fuelled by the Thai government's big-ticket infrastructure investment plans, a bullish sentiment is permeating throughout the Bangkok property sector. The engine of growth over the next four years will be a US$38.1 billion upgrading of transport infrastructure, including transit systems into the capital. This will be accompanied by work on a satellite city around the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport. During 2003, the property sector enjoyed its best turnaround after the 1997 economic crisis. On the trading grounds, construction stocks jumped following Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's victory in the elections. In the commercial space markets, the newly commissioned Central World Plaza has begun to offer prime office space next to the World Trade Centre. Down the road, the giant Siam Paragon is expected to be opened at the end of this year. On the residential front, low interest rates, coupled with Thailand's strong economic fundamentals, have increased the purchasing power of its citizens. Mr. Anant Asavabhokhin, president of the country's largest developer, Land & Houses PLC, told The Bangkok Post last year that the Thaksin administration had been the first government to understand that the property sector was an engine for growth.

The Taj group has opened its new resort, Taj Green Cove at Kovalam in Kerala. The resort is a joint venture between the Taj Group and the Muthoot Pappachan Group. The Balinese style resort features 57 granite stone cottages, deluxe rooms with private lawns, eight two-bedroom suites with private balcony, lawns and a presidential suite with private pool and sun deck. Recreation facilities offered at the resort like water sports, whirlpools, putting green, tennis court and swimming pools are at par with international standards.

The Malaysian government will build a US$26 million terminal exclusively for low-cost carriers (LCC) at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The new terminal will be part of the next phase of KLIA's expansion program, which will begin in the second quarter of this year. The no-frills terminal will be able to service a passenger aircraft within 20 minutes and it can handle 40 aircrafts at any given time. The new terminal will be capable to handle 10 to 12 million passengers a year and is expected to be operational by June 2006, just after the scheduled opening of Singapore's US$27 million low-cost terminal at Changi Airport next year. Malaysia's Transport Minister, Mr. Chan Kong Choy says the dedicated terminal building will raise the competitiveness of low-cost carriers, which have mushroomed across Asia. In his view, this would also help KLIA to become a key regional LCC hub. Malaysia hopes to become a regional air hub to rival Singapore and Bangkok's established airports.