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Featured
in this Asia Pacific Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 19
December 2008 |
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StayWell
Hospitality Group (SWHG), owner and operator of the Leisure
Inn and Park Regis hotel brands, has announced it has signed
a long-term lease agreement for the five-storey Taspac Building
along Commerce Street, opposite the Britomart precinct and situated
just off Queen Street, in Auckland, New Zealand. The building
is expected to be extensively refurbished and rebranded as the
82-room Leisure Inn Express Auckland upon opening in September
2009. The Leisure Inn Express brand is an extension of the Leisure
Inn brand which targets the economy/budget market with a stylish
and compact yet functional product offering and facilities including
self check-in facilities, private bathrooms, contemporary design
and equipped with the latest technology. SWHG’s announcement
is in line with the group’s expansion plan to move into
key gateway locations in New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region. |
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JHM
Interstate Hotels Limited (JHMIH), an international third party
hotel management company, plans to manage 35 hotel properties
of various star categories in India by 2013 and is currently
in advanced stages of negotiation with several hotel owners.
JHMIH, which is a joint venture entity between US-based hotel
real estate investor, Interstate Hotels and Resorts, and an
independent developer and owner of hotels in the USA, JHM Hotels,
has already announced its first management contract for the
124-room Double Tree by Hilton Vizag hotel in Vishakhapatnam,
India and the company is in discussion for four other hotel
deals. Additionally, the company also plans to own hotels in
India through its investment arm, Duet India Hotels Limited,
a UK-based real estate investment fund and is currently negotiating
to acquire all four properties of Dawnay, Day Hotels India. |
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Despite
the projected volatile times ahead for the tourism industry,
TuneHotels.com is anticipated to open three new hotels in Malaysia
by the first quarter of 2009. The Tune Hotel at the Low Cost
Carrier Terminal, Kuala Lumpur is expected to offer 222 rooms
with several retail and food and beverage outlets, while the
Tune Hotels in Kuching and Penang will offer 135 and 258 rooms,
respectively. The group was previously reported to invest approximately
US$576 million at between US$4.6 million and US$5.8 million
per building to develop 100 hotels locally and regionally by
2011. |
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In
a bid to revive the tourism industry, officials from the Vietnam
National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has announced several
plans to boost the country's tourism industry which has been
hit hard by the worldwide economic slowdown. The Vietnamese
authorities expected between 4.8 and 5.0 million international
arrivals in 2008, but only received 3.9 million by the end of
November 2008, with visitation from traditional feeder markets
such as Japan, South Korea and Europe all down. Under the plan,
prices of package tours run by state travel agencies and room
rates at both state-run and state-owned private hotels will
be cut between 30 and 50 percent. Vietnam Airlines has also
committed to reduce ticket prices by 30 to 50 percent on most
of its flights, while the country will begin granting visas
on arrival at all international border gates from 2009. VNAT
also has plans to spend US$20 million to US$30 million on a
global tourism marketing campaign in foreign media. |
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Non-profit
organisation Designing Hong Kong has proposed and urged the
government to consider a proposal to revitalise the Seaview
Building in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, instead of tearing it down,
and sell it with an open space for hotel development. It has
been suggested that the car park space next to the Seaview Building
remain as an open space for public enjoyment where half of the
car park can be converted into a park while the remaining car
park space remains as a drop-off point for tour coaches. Additionally,
it is proposed that the 60-year-old Seaview Building be revitalised
to include alfresco dining, a beach club and other retail shops.
Under the government's current plan, the car park has been zoned
as open space and will be sold with the Seaview Building for
hotel development. However, there are concerns that the proposed
hotel development will aggravate the present traffic problems. |
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Japan’s
Mori Trust Co (MT) has announced that it will turn the company
that operates InterContinental Yokohama The Grand into a consolidated
subsidiary to gain greater management control. Mori Trust will
acquire all of Ishin Yokohama Holdings' 39.34 percent interest
in the hotel operator and subsequently sell 20 percent of that
to Hospitality Network while retaining the rest. The transaction
is expected to raise MT’s interest to 58.68 percent from
the 39.34 percent it originally owns. |
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Absolute
Share Price Performance, as at 19 December 2008 |
|
Closing Share Price as at |
19
December 2008 |
12
December 2008 |
%
Change |
Australia
Stock Exchange (ASX) |
Amalgamated
Holdings |
4.50 |
4.25 |
6% |
General
Property Group |
0.93 |
0.90 |
4% |
Mirvac
Group |
1.24 |
1.17 |
6% |
Ocean
Capital Limited |
0.30 |
0.35 |
-14% |
Thakral
Holdings Group |
0.40 |
0.42 |
-4% |
Living
and Leisure Australia Group |
0.03 |
0.03 |
– |
Bangkok
Stock Exchange (THB) |
Central
Plaza Hotel Public Co Ltd |
3.14 |
3.16 |
-1% |
Dusit
Thani Public Co Ltd |
19.40 |
19.00 |
2% |
The
Erawan Group Public Limited |
1.41 |
1.45 |
-3% |
Grande
Asset Development |
1.90 |
1.90 |
– |
Laguna
Resorts & Hotel Public Co Ltd |
23.50 |
22.90 |
3% |
Minor
International PCL |
6.90 |
5.70 |
21% |
Hong
Kong Stock Exchange (HK$) |
Miramar
Hotel International Ltd |
5.14 |
5.28 |
-3% |
Regal
Hotels International Holdings Ltd |
2.00 |
1.82 |
10% |
Sino
Hotels Holdings Ltd |
2.70 |
2.56 |
5% |
The
Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels Ltd |
5.96 |
5.79 |
3% |
Singapore
Stock Exchange (S$) |
Amara
Holdings Ltd |
0.22 |
0.20 |
10% |
ART
Management Pte Ltd |
0.58 |
0.51 |
14% |
Banyan
Tree Holdings Limited |
0.43 |
0.40 |
8% |
CDL
HTrust |
0.70 |
0.61 |
15% |
Hotel
Grand Central Ltd |
0.54 |
0.50 |
8% |
Hotel
Plaza Ltd |
1.17 |
1.23 |
-5% |
Hotel
Properties Ltd |
1.09 |
0.97 |
12% |
Mandarin
Oriental International Ltd (US$) |
1.02 |
0.95 |
7% |
Shangri-La
Asia Ltd |
8.10 |
8.52 |
-5% |
Stamford
Land |
0.25 |
0.26 |
-4% |
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Disclaimer:
Information provided above has been gathered from various market sources.
HVS has not independently verified the accuracy of the
information provided. Interested parties should not rely on the information
as statement of facts and are advised to make their own independent
checks to verify the information provided. For further information,
please feel free to contact HVS
Singapore. |