| Pontiac Land Group and City Realty to develop hotel in Singapore | Return to Headlines |
| 10 November 2003 - The Pontiac Land Group has teamed up with Thai property developer City Realty to develop an S$150 million luxury hotel with villas on Sentosa Island, Singapore. To embark on the development of the project, the two companies have formed a joint-venture company, Millenia Hotel Pte Ltd. The hotel will comprise less than 100 rooms and is expected to be completed by 2007. | |
| JW Marriott Hotel opens in Shanghai | Return to Headlines |
| 10 November 2003 - The 342-room JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai and 255-unit Tomorrow Square Marriott Executive Apartments celebrated their official grand opening on 7 November. The launch of JW Marriott and Executive Apartment brought the number of Marriott properties in China to 33. Owned by Shanghai Tomorrow Square Company Limited, the hotel and serviced apartment are located close to the People's Square in Shanghai. | |
| CapitaLand’s net profit down 53% in Q303 | Return to Headlines |
| 10 November 2003 - Singapore's CapitaLand Ltd. announced third-quarter net profit of S$67 million, a 53% decline compared to last year's S$141.7 million profits for the period. However, CapitalLand Hotel arm, Raffles Holdings Ltd., reported strong growth in third-quarter net profit to S$9.5 million whilst CapitaLand services apartment arm, Ascott Group Ltd., also saw its net profit increase by 59% thanks to the sale of assets in Bangkok. | |
| Bulgari SpA to develop five-star resort in Bali | Return to Headlines |
| 11 November 2003 - Bulgari SpA has plans to develop a five-star resort in Bali, Indonesia with Marriott International. Managed by Marriott International, the hotel will be developed and owned by MRA Group & Partners, an Indonesian firm that owns the franchise of Bulgari stores in the country. The hotel will comprise 58 villas, restaurant, a spa and a private beach and is expected to be completed in mid-2005. | |
| Regent Bangkok completes renovations | Return to Headlines |
| 11 November 2003 - The Regent Bangkok has completed a THB29 million expansion project of its meeting facilities, increasing the number of meeting rooms from 10 to 15. Moreover, the total space meeting area has been increased from 1,449 to 1,824 square metres. | |
| Jinjiang International to consolidate its brands | Return to Headlines |
| 11 November 2003 - Jinjiang International Holdings, China's largest hotel group, aims to consolidate its brands. At present, the group operates 105 hotels under 10 different brands nationwide. It aims to reduce its brands to 7, ranging from budget hotel Jingjiang Inn to five-star hotels. | |
| South Korea considers offering multiple-entry visa to Chinese tourists | Return to Headlines |
| 11 November 2003 - South Korea is considering offering multiple-entry visas to Chinese tourists in order to simplify immigration procedures and attract more visitors from this market. At present, multiple-entry visas are given only to Chinese people who visit to Korea on business. | |
| Hankyu Corporation to consolidate its hotels under one company | Return to Headlines |
| 12 November 2003 - Hankyu Corporation, one of the major railway operators in western Japan, plans to establish a company in 2004 to oversee the operation of its two hotels, namely, Hotel New Hankyu and Daichi Hankyu Hotel in Osaka. The company expects to buy back all the outstanding shares in the two hotels. | |
| Suzhou Industrial Park Development Co. seeks listing in Hong Kong | Return to Headlines |
| 12 November 2003 - Hankyu Corporation, one of the major railway operators in western Japan, plans to establish a company in 2004 to oversee the operation of its two hotels, namely, Hotel New Hankyu and Daichi Hankyu Hotel in Osaka. The company expects to buy back all the outstanding shares in the two hotels. | |
| Sky City Entertainment to buy Burswood’s Perth Casino? | Return to Headlines |
| 12 November 2003 - According to the Dominion Post Newspaper, Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd, an Australian casino operator, has plans to buy Burswood Ltd.’s Perth Casino. However, no further information has been disclosed. | |
| Adelaide Airport’s terminal under construction | Return to Headlines |
| 12 November 2003 - Adelaide Airport in Australia will start construction of a A$260 million passenger terminal in mid-November. The terminal will cover an area of 78,000 square metres and is expected to be completed in December 2005. | |
| Korea to reinstate hotel VAT for foreigners | Return to Headlines |
| 12 November 2003 - The Korean government will discontinue value added tax (VAT) exemption policies for foreigners who stay at tourist hotels from January 2004 onwards. The measures were introduced in June 2001 to coincide with the Visit Korea Year and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but was extended for six months to offset the drop in travellers caused by the SARS epidemic. | |
| InterContinental Hotels Group to manage a hotel in Inner Mongolia | Return to Headlines |
| 13 November 2003 - InterContinental Hotels Group announced the opening of the Holiday Inn Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, China. Owned by Inner Mongolia Yellow River Wanjiazhai Industrial and Commercial Company Limited, the Holiday Inn Hohhot is located in Hohhot’s main commercial and shopping district. The hotel comprises 198 rooms, 3 food and beverage outlets as well as conference and recreational facilities. | |
| Disney theme park in Shanghai? | Return to Headlines |
| 13 November 2003 - According to the China Daily, Walt Disney and the Shanghai government are in talks to build a theme park in Shanghai, China. The construction of the theme park is expected to begin in 2010 provided that the plan is feasible. However, no further information has been disclosed at this stage. | |
| J2K Management Group to build new theme park in Pattaya | Return to Headlines |
| 13 November 2003 - J2K Management Group, a Thai theme park operator, will build a new theme park in Pattaya, Thailand in 2004. The Alangkarn cultural theme park will comprise 2000-seat theatre, restaurants and souvenir shops. The construction of the theme park is expected to cost more than THB1 billion. | |
| The Residency Hotel to undergo renovations | Return to Headlines |
| 13 November 2003 - The Residency Hotel in Chennai, India is expected to undergo an Rs10 crores renovations. The project is expected to be completed in the next 12 to 18 months. | |
| Central Plaza Hotel’s net profit up 90% in Q303 | Return to Headlines |
| 13 November 2003 - Thailand-based Central Plaza Hotel PCL reported a net profit of THB 72.9 million for the third quarter 2003, a 90% increase compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date net profit, however, is still below last year at THB169 million compared to THB 214 million in 2002. | |
| Peppers H&R to manage two new properties in Australia | Return to Headlines |
| 14 November 2003 - Peppers Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement with the Ray Group to manage two strata-titled tourism properties within the Salt development at Kingscliff, in northern New South Wales, Australia. Salt's developer, the Ray Group, said Peppers would manage a boutique 5-star beachfront retreat to be known as The Beach House and an adjoining 5-star resort hotel, Peppers Salt Resort Kingscliff. The Beach House will comprise 41 luxury apartments whilst the Peppers Salt Resort will comprise 164 apartments. | |
| Banyan Tree Holdings to list on the Singapore Stock Exchange | Return to Headlines |
| 14 November 2003 - Luxury resort and spa operator Banyan Tree Holdings appointed UBS AG as underwriter to an initial public offering on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The IPO is expected to raise about S$200 million and will constitute a mixture of old and new shares. The company plans to sell about 20% to 25% of new capital, while existing seed invests NatSteel, PAMA (Prudential Asset Management Asia) and JAI Hotels will realise their equity investments. The group disclosed that average annual revenues were approximately US$100 million, from resorts in Indonesia, Thailand, the Maldives and the Seychelles. | |
| Beijing government to transfer land use rights through auctions | Return to Headlines |
| 14 November 2003 - The Beijing government will transfer land use rights through auctions for the first time. The land, located in Daxing District, covers an area of 308,700 square metres and will allow 70 years for residential use and 40 years for commercial use. The purpose of the auction is to avoid behind-the-scene transactions and create a fair competition among investors. Domestic and overseas enterprises, organisations and individuals are welcomed to bid for the land. | |
