| Abacus Property Group has bought the five-star
Swissôtel in central Sydney for US$69.5 million. The 359-room hotel will
be added to Abacus's Hospitality Fund, but will continue to be managed by
Swissôtel Hotels and Resorts, one of four brands owned by international
hotel group Fairmont Raffles Holding International. Since launching the
hospitality fund to retail investors in March 2007, Abacus has bought three
new hotels, bringing its total assets across six properties to about US$216.6
million. It expects to finalise the Swissôtel deal in early July 2007. |
| Genting Bhd, Malaysia's sole casino operator, has
announced that its first-quarter net profit more than doubled mainly due
to the better performance of its gaming business and one-off gains. The
group expects its performance for the rest of 2007 to be satisfactory, it
said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia. Genting registered a net profit of
US$193.6 million for the financial period ended March 2007 compared with
US$90.7 million in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue surged 65 per cent
to US$598.6 million. The group, which is valued at US$8.6 billion, also
runs oil palm plantations, power plants, hotels, and is involved in oil
exploration. |
| Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
released the detailed sales conditions for a reserve site at Kallang Road
/ Jellicoe Road for hotel development on 23 May 2007. The Land Parcel, which
has a site area of about 0.42 ha and a gross plot ratio of 4.5, is zoned
for hotel use. The site can generate a maximum permissible gross floor area
of about 18,980 square metres. The land parcel at Kallang Road / Jellicoe
Road is one of the three new hotel sites that were scheduled for release
for application on the reserve list in the Government Land Sales Programme
for the first half of 2007. The other two hotel sites at New Bridge Road
and Victoria Street / Jalan Sultan were made available for application in
April 2007. |
| Spending by international and domestic tourists
in Japan is expected to total US$246 billion in fiscal year 2010, up 22
percent from fiscal year 2005, due in part to an increase in the number
of visitors from abroad, the transport ministry said in May 2007. The projected
spending growth includes US$17.2 billion stemming from an increase in paid
holidays taken by company employees and US$9.0 billion from a rise in the
number of long-stay tours by baby boomers, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
and Transport said. In addition, an expenditure increase of US$7.4 billion
can be expected if the number of visitors from abroad reaches 10 million
as projected by the government's "Visit Japan" campaign. |
| Far East Consortium International will speed up
its expansion into the mainland's hospitality industry with plans to invest
up to US$500 million to open 10 four-star hotels in the next 12 to 18 months.
The group believed it was time to extend its reach into the mainland. In
April 2007, Far East Consortium made its first foray into the mainland by
acquiring a distressed asset in Chengdu for US$36.4 million. The group plans
to invest an additional US$9.3 million to refurbish it into a 600-room four-star
hotel. "We have looked at 50 hotels in prime locations in provincial cities
such as Shenyang and Changchun," said Deputy Chairman David Chiu Tat-cheong.
The group is interested in acquiring distressed assets or renovating existing
properties and Mr. Chiu hopes to add nine more hotels, each with an investment
budget of between US$38.3 million and US$51.1 million, by end of 2008. |
| Hotels will be exempt from value-added tax on sales
of rooms and other services to foreign tourists beginning in July 2007,
government officials said. The decision will be effective for sales to be
made between July 2007 and December 2008 by 604 hotels nationwide, said
officials at the Ministry of Finance and Economy. An enforcement ordinance
has been adopted for the move. "The move is partly aimed at drawing more
foreign tourists, as the 2008 Beijing Olympics draws near," a ministry official
said. "Local hotels have been having difficulties in attracting foreigners,
because a recent hike of the local currency has increased the cost of traveling
for foreign tourists." |
