| Featured in this Asia Pacific Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 8 July 2005 |
| Sydney's W Hotel Up For Sale | Return to Headlines |
| The iconic W Sydney hotel in Woolloomooloo is set to change hands, after its Hong Kong owner put it on the market with a price tag of more than US$26 million (US$250,000 per key) and the lure of possible vacant possession. The seller, Harilela Group, picked up the boutique hotel at Sydney's Finger Wharf for about US$22 million in 1999. Starwood Hotels and Resorts secured the management contract for the 104-room hotel in what was the first W property outside North America. However, a new owner could pay out the hotel manager. | |
| South Korea Unveils GIC-Like Agency | Return to Headlines |
| South Korea will debut a state-run investment agency modelled on Singapore to manage a portion of the world's fourth-largest currency reserves. Korea Investment Corp will invest US$20 billion of public funds in US Treasuries and similarly rated securities from Asia, Europe and the United States. The fund aims to mirror the Government of Singapore Investment Corp, which has earned more than 4 per cent over inflation annually investing in a number of projects ranging from UK malls to Malaysia's biggest automaker. In late 1997, South Korea almost depleted its foreign reserves and avoided bankruptcy with a US$57 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. Exports of chips helped Asia's third-largest economy boost its currency reserves to US$206 billion as at the end of May 2005. | |
| HK Airport's Profit More Than Triples | Return to Headlines |
| Hong Kong's airport, which is planning an initial public offering (IPO), announced a tripling of annual profits on the back of stronger passenger traffic. The airport, the world’s fifth busiest, made a net profit of US$181 million in the last financial year, on increase of more than US$130 million from the previous year when the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak wreaked havoc with regional travel. Despite increased competition from airports over the border in southern China, Hong Kong's airport saw passenger numbers rise by 38% to 38.3 million in the past financial year. In this masterplan, Hong Kong wants to strengthen its ties with other airports in the Pearl River Delta, China's export heartland, to alleviate investor concerns about competition ahead of the IPO. Additionally, earlier in April, the airport said it would buy 35 per cent of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Co Ltd, which manages Hangzhou Airport, for US$245 million. | |
| Planet Hollywood to Set Up Hotels & Resorts in India | Return to Headlines |
| As part of its international expansion and diversification into the hotels, resorts and casino business, Planet Hollywood International Inc (PHII) is poised to launch a new venture in India. The company’s master franchisee Arch Millennium Corp (AMC), which will develop five Planet Hollywood restaurants in India costing roughly US$15 million, will also be responsible for bringing in PHII’s hotel and resort properties into the country. | |
| Pansea Orient-Express Opens Resort in Bali | Return to Headlines |
| The niche hotel owner and operator Pansea Orient-Express Hotels recently opened its latest resort property, the Ubud Hanging Gardens in Bali in July 2005. Nestled on a steep and spectacular hillside overlooking the Ayung River gorge, the resort offers guests a serene and tranquil environment in contemporary Balinese style villas. The resort has three categories of Villas: 30 deluxe Pool Villas, of approximately 100m², 6 deluxe Suite Pool Villas of 160m² and two 2-bedroom Family Pool Villas of 160m² (including room, deck, pool, bale and bathroom.) In addition to the newly opened Ubud Hanging Gardens, Bali the company also operates another Pansea Orient Express Hotels property in Bali - Jimbaran Puri Bali. | |
| Foreign Hotels Swarm to Chinese Market | Return to Headlines |
| Lured by the opportunities created by the rapid development of Chinese economy and the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, foreign hotels are swarming to the Chinese market, often teaming up with local enterprises. Some five-star hotels like Marriott, Hyatt, St.Regis and Ritz-Carlton have invested several billion US dollars in China. Starwood Hotel has built 16 hotels in China, the most outside the United States. The number of hotels owned by Marriott, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton and InterContinental Hotel have all surpassed those in other countries outside their motherland. Foreign hotel enterprises now operate about 500 properties in the country, making up 5% of the total. Marriott alone has set up 24 hotels in mainland China, and six more hotels are under construction. Though most foreign hotels have fixed their eyes on Beijing, Shanghai and other large metropolises, they are shifting their attention to secondary cities like Ningbo, Hangzhou and Nanjing. | |
| Absolute Share Price Performance, as at 8 July 2005 |
