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New cruise ship terminal under construction in Shanghai
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Lotte Group plans to develop an amusement park in Busan, South Korea
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Bangkok Land plans to list Impact Exhibition Management Ltd.
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Visitor arrivals to Taiwan down 21.4% in 2003
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A new entertainment resort in Quang Binh, Vietnam
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Federal Hotels & Resorts acquire the Freycinet Lodge at Coles Bay, Australia
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Meritus opens serviced-residence in Bangkok
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Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong up 7.4% in December 2003
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Plaza Pacific Hotels & Resorts eyes third hotels in Malaysia
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Cathay Organisation ventures into budget hotels
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Pansea to open in new hotel in Koh Samui, Thailand
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GSL Holdings acquires Shi Shan Hotel in Jiangsu Province, China
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Best Western adds one in Australia
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2 million tourists visited North Vietnam in 2003
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Central Hotels & Resorts to manage hotel in Hue, Vietnam
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Opening of Le Meridien Sentral Kuala Lumpur announced in August
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Darwin’s MGM Grand Casino rumored to be sold
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Visitor arrivals to Sri Lanka up 27% in 2003
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12 January 2003 – Construction on a new cruise ship terminal in the northern bund of Shanghai, China has started. The terminal will cover an area of 160,000 square metres and will be able to berth three large cruise liners. Besides cruise ship, the terminal will also handle two regular passenger lines connecting Shanghai and Japan. Furthermore, a large park, shopping streets, hotels, office buildings, apartments and art centres will be developed on the land.
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12 January 2003 – South Korea’s Lotte Group has plans to build an indoor amusement park in Busan, South Korea. The project will consist of a 107-floor building comprising a department store, hotel, movie theatres and international conference halls. The department store and entertainment facilities are anticipated to start operations in August 2006 whilst the hotel will open in June 2009. The construction of the project is estimated to cost W1.5trillion.
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12 January 2003 – Bangkok Land PCL plans to list its wholly-owned unit Impact Exhibition Management Ltd. by the third quarter this year, according to the Business Day, quoting Bangkok Land Chairman Anant Kanjanapas. The funds raised could be used to fund the company’s planned hotel and entertainment project. Impact currently has over 80,000 square metres of exhibition space under management and is in the process of adding another 50,000 square metres later this year. The company has more than 100 trade shows and conventions lined up this year.
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12 January 2003 – Visitor arrivals to Taiwan for 2003 declined by 21.4% to 2.24 million compared to 2.72 million in 2002 with sharp decrease in arrivals from Japan, Hong Kong, Macau and the United States. The Taiwan Tourism Bureau aims to attract 3.2 million foreign tourists in 2004.
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12 January 2003 – The construction of an ecological entertainment resort has started in Bo Trach district, in Quang Binh province, Vietnam. The resort will cover an area of 50 hectares and is estimated to cost approximately VND300 billion (US$18.75 million). The construction is expected to be completed in 2007.
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13 January 2003 – Federal Hotels & Resorts (FHR) announced the purchase of the Freycinet Lodge at Coles Bay, Australia. FHR will take control of the lodge, located inside the Freycinet National Park, from February 1. Furthermore, the group has plans to develop a 100-room resort at the same area which is due to open by late 2005. The company owns major tourism assets in Australia, including the Wrest Point Casino, Country Club Resort and Villas, the Strahan Village, Gordon River Cruises and the West Coast Wilderness Railway.
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13 January 2003 – Meritus Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of an all-suite service residence in Bangkok, Thailand on 27 December 2003. The 65-storey Meritus Suites State Tower, located on the corner of Silom Road and Charoen Krung Road, comprises 462 suites, recreation facilities and meeting rooms.
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13 January 2003 – Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong reached 1.79 million in December 2003, an increase of 7.4% compared to the same period in 2002. However, for the full year 2003, visitor arrivals declined by 6.2% from 16.57 million in 2002 to 15.54 million in 2003.
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14 January 2003 – Plaza Pacific Hotels & Resorts International (PPH&R), the hotel management arm of Singapore-based Hotel Plaza Ltd, has great expectations from its business in Malaysia in 2004. According to Singapore Business Times, quoting PPH&R senior vice president, the company recently completed a RM90 million renovation of its Grand Plaza Parkroyal Hotels in Penang and Kuala Lumpur and expects a 30% increase in revenues from these properties. Furthermore, PPH&R is interested to develop a new hotel in Sabah or Sarawak.
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14 January 2003 – Singapore’s Cathay Organisation, a cinema operator, has set up a new subsidiary, Hangout Hotels Pte Ltd. The company will manage and operate budget hotels. The first Hangout hotel is due to open in April in Singapore. The hotel (the former Mount Emily Hotel) will comprise 61 rooms and 27 dormitory beds. Prices will start from S$20 for a bed and S$60 for a room. Hangout Hotels also plans to manage properties in Malaysia.
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14 January 2003 – Pansea is set to open the Pansea Samui in Koh Samui, Thailand on February 1. The resort, located on Maenam beach, will comprise 55 cottages, 14 private villas, recreational facilities and two restaurants.
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15 January 2003 – China’s GSL Holdings announced its acquisition of Shi Shan Hotel in Haimen City, Jiangsu Province, China. The ownership was transferred from Everbright Development Overseas to GSL Holdings in exchange for 6,463,415 shares of GSL Holdings, Inc., valued at US$2.00 per share. The agreement was signed by Everbright and GSL on September 12, 2003, and approved by the Board of Directors of GSL Holdings on December 29, 2003. GSL Holdings announced that the hotel will undergo a major renovation project and then re-open in the near future. The hotel will be managed by the GSL Hotel Management Company.
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15 January 2003 – Best Western has added another property to its portfolio in Australia. The Best Western Riverside Apartments, located next to the Convention & Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, comprise 49 apartments with kitchenette facilities.
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15 January 2003 – Ha Tay, the northern province of Vietnam, welcomed approximately 2 million tourists, including 77,000 international visitors in 2003, generating VND 207 billion in revenue (US$13.3 million), a 14% increase year-on-year. The increase is attributed to a VND 60 billion (US$3.9 million) investment in infrastructure projects at tourism sites.
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15 January 2003 – Central Hotels & Resorts (CH&R) signed an agreement with Huong Giang Hotel to manage a 150-room hotel in Hue, Vietnam. Under the terms of the contract, the hotel will be renovated and 80 new rooms built to boost accommodation. The renovation will take six to eight months to complete. CH&R is the first Thai company to manage a hotel in Vietnam. It is also interested in managing another property there, Morin, in which Huong Giang has 50% stake.
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16 January 2003 – Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of Le Meridien Sentral in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August. The hotel, located in the city centre, will comprise 422 rooms, five food and beverage outlets as well as recreational and conference facilities.
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16 January 2003 – MGM Grand Casino in Darwin, Australia, is about to be sold to New Zealand-based Skycity Entertainment Group. The company is expected to pay between A$160 and A$210 million for the property, which includes a 107-room hotel. The current owner, Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage, paid A$105 million to acquire the property nine years ago.
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16 January 2003 – According to the Sri Lanka Tourist Board, visitor arrivals to the country increased by 27% to 500,642 in 2003 compared to 2002 whilst tourism revenues increased from US$250 million in 2002 to US$325 million in 2003. The main feeder markets are the UK and India.
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Absolute Share Price Performance, as at 16 January 2004
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