Featured in this Asia Pacific Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 8 December 2006
Japan's ANA To Sell All Domestic Hotel Assets
Starwood Capital In China Deal
India's HCC Selects Accor As Operator For Hotels Near Pune, India
Jin Jiang Sees Huge Demand
Super Eight China Exceeds Development Goal For Second Year
Singapore Will Host More Than 1,600 Participants At The ASEAN Tourism Forum
Absolute Share Price Performance, as at 8 December 2006


Japan's ANA To Sell All Domestic Hotel Assets Return to Headlines

All Nippon Airways Co Ltd has decided to sell its 13 domestic hotels to raise more than US$855 million, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. The planned sales, which involve both buildings and the land they occupy, will enable the company to shift its focus back to its core aviation business, the business daily said. Japan's second-largest airline will hold the first of several auctions in December 2006 and it will select the buyers by the end of March 2007. While selling out domestic hotel assets, ANA will continue to operate its two hotels in China and Austria, the Nihon Keizai said. ANA's hotel business reported sales of US$575 million and operating profit of US$40 million in the year to March 2006.


Starwood Capital In China Deal Return to Headlines

Barry Sternlicht's Starwood Capital entered a strategic relationship with Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels and will make a US$30 million strategic investment in Jin Jiang, making Starwood the largest outside shareholder in the company. Starwood Capital and Jin Jiang will work together to develop and strengthen each other's hotel business, mainly in China, and will cooperate on hotel business projects. "Jin Jiang's geographic reach and portfolio of owned assets across all hotel categories leaves it uniquely positioned to benefit from the explosive growth in the Chinese hotel industry, fueled by rapidly expanding tourism and business travel," Sternlicht said.


India's HCC Selects Accor As Operator For Hotels Near Pune, India Return to Headlines

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has announced the company would develop two hotels in Lavasaa township near Pune, India, which would be operated and managed by Accor. The first hotel project to be developed by HCC in technical collaboration with Accor Hotels will be a 250-key Novotel resort spread over 4.9 hectare site at Lavasa, while the second project would be an 80-key Grand Mercure Spa Resort to be located on a 2.8 hectare site. The first phase of the township project is expected to be complete by 2008-09.


Jin Jiang Sees Huge Demand Return to Headlines
Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels (Group), which is raising about US$310 million through an initial public offering, drew more than US$1.2 billion in bids from Hong Kong retail investors as they subscribed for 400 times more shares than were available to them. The retail portion will be boosted to 50 per cent of the total from the original 10 per cent after the overwhelming demand for a stake in the mainland's largest hotel chain operator. The institutional portion was more than 100 times oversubscribed, Jin Jiang is expected to price its shares at the top end given the overwhelming demand.

Super Eight China Exceeds Development Goal For Second Year Return to Headlines
Super 8 Hotels (China) Co. Ltd. announced it has exceeded its 2006 development projection of 100 properties either open or signed by the end of 2006 by 10 percent. For the second consecutive year, the company has exceeded its development goals due to continued strong growth in domestic demand for branded economy lodging in China. Super 8 Hotels (China) has 110 properties either open or signed in 58 cities across China, of which 32 are open and operating. In addition, the company announced it will open three properties in December 2006.

Singapore Will Host More Than 1,600 Participants At The ASEAN Tourism Forum Return to Headlines
The annual forum comprises the meetings of the ASEAN Tourism Ministers, Heads of National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) and industry associations, the travel mart - TRAVEX and the ASEAN Tourism Conference. With two months to go to February 2007, the TRAVEX at ATF 2007 has already seen some 1,400 buyers and sellers from 50 countries confirm their participation. In 2005, 28 million visitors from outside ASEAN visited the region. This is a 4.2% increase over 2004, contributing to about 55% of total arrivals into ASEAN and demonstrating ASEAN�s continued draw as a destination to visitors from outside the region.

Absolute Share Price Performance, as at 8 December 2006
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