Weekly Hotel Industry News Roundup from Asia Pacific
Straits Trading Company Limited Acquires Emerald Hotel Perth For US$23.4 Million
Singapore-based Straits Trading Company Limited's wholly owned subsidiary, Rendezvous Hotels Management Pty Ltd, has announced the acquisition of the 101-room Emerald Hotel Perth for approximately US$23.4 million. Located along Mount Street near St Georges Terrace in Perth's Central Business District, the Best Western managed hotel is expected to undergo a major refurbishment and will operate under the Rendezvous Hotels and Resorts International Group as part of The Marque Collection of Hotels. The Emerald Hotel Perth is the second major hotel transaction in Perth following the sale of the 84-room Chifley Hotel for US$24.7 million to another Singaporean investor. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), figures showed that Perth hotels achieved the highest occupancy rates in Australia and registered the strongest RevPAR growth of 23% in 2007.
Singapore's Banyan Tree Announces First Closing Of Its Indochina Fund
Banyan Tree Holdings has unveiled the first closing of its Indochina real estate development fund, the Banyan Tree Indochina Hospitality Fund (BTIHF), with HSIL Investments and a feeder fund of Nan Fang Group, with all three parties committing a total of US$100 million. Banyan Tree Indochina (GP) Co Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Banyan Tree Holdings and the general partner of the fund, and the two above mentioned parties are likely to commit a further US$50 million which will bring the total funds to a cap of US$50 million each. The BTIHF, which was established on 29 January 2008, is seeking a targeted US$300 million to US$400 million. This fund will invest primarily in the Laguna Vietnam project in Vietnam's Chan May-Lang Co Economic Zone and other projects which are yet to be identified.
Blackstone Bids For Japan's Chisun Hotel Group
Blackstone Group (Blackstone), currently the world's largest investment fund, has entered the race to acquire Japan's Chisun Hotel Group (Chisun). Chisun, which is owned by American investment firm Lone Star, has been in the market since December 2007. It was reported that entities such as Aetos Capital LLC and KK DaVinci Advisors have also been shortlisted by Lone Star as potential buyers of Chisun, which is expected to fetch between US$1.4 billion and US$1.9 billion. Presently, Lone Star's Solare Hotels and Resorts Co.manages approximately 50 hotels, from low-priced inns to resorts, totalling 10,000 rooms across Japan.
Parsvnath To Develop Ten Hotels With Royal Orchid In India
India's Parsvnath Developers (Parsvnath) has announced a joint venture with Bangalore-based Royal Orchid Hotels (Royal Orchid) to develop ten hotels in India with an investment of US$124 million by 2013. Parsvnath Royal Orchid Hotels, which Parsvnath will hold a majority share of 70%, is expected to build 1,000 rooms across India including four five-star and four-star hotels each with the remaining being three-star hotels, resorts and serviced apartments. At present, Parsvnath has approximately 210 million square feet of developable area and presence in 17 states across India while Royal Orchid has hotels in Bangalore, Mysore, Pune, Jaipur and Hyderabad and has also ventured into Tanzania.
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