Monthly Archives: November 2009

Mapletree starts work on south China project

Posted on 19 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Mapletree starts work on south China project

Mapletree Investments yesterday unveiled plans for the US$342 million first phase of its Nanhai Business City, a mixed-use development in Foshan City, China.

Twenty high-rise apartment blocks with about 2,000 residential apartments and a four-storey retail mall called VivoCity@Nanhai will be developed in phase one, Mapletree said.

Nanhai Business City is the group’s first commercial project in south China and its largest project so far.

The project is being developed by a Mapletree- sponsored private real estate fund called Mapletree India China Fund, which holds 80 per cent of a joint venture company set up to develop the project. The remaining 20 per cent is held by local Chinese partner Pan Shun Ming, who is chairman of Southern Packaging.

Nanhai Business City is the Mapletree fund’s third investment in China.

Mapletree celebrated the ground-breaking ceremony for phase one yesterday. This phase, expected to be completed by 2013, involves the development of 10 hectares of land into the high-rise residential blocks and retail mall.

The residential component will also have facilities such as a recreation centre, gymnasium, cafe, basketball court, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and themed gardens. The first batch of 270 units will be ready for sale in the third quarter of 2010.

VivoCity@Nanhai, the four-storey retail mall, will have about 100,000 sq metres of gross floor area. Mapletree said the mall will incorporate the ’successful attributes’ of its VivoCity shopping mall in Singapore.

The entire Nanhai Business City will cover more than 35 ha and will be developed in four phases over the next five to eight years.

‘Our investment in Nanhai Business City underscores the importance of South China as an investment location for Mapletree, particularly, the Nanhai district in Foshan City,’ said Mapletree chief executive Hiew Yoon Khong.

He said Mapletree is evaluating several other suitable investments in China and India for its US$1.16 billion Mapletree India China Fund, which was set up to fund the group’s expansion in these countries.

Source : Business Times – 19 Nov 2009

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Holiday Inn Park View completes overhaul

Posted on 19 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Holiday Inn Park View completes overhaul

The Holiday Inn Park View, which opened here in 1985, has been renamed Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre as part of a $25 million refurbishment exercise.

Its signage, reception area, guest rooms and food and beverage outlets have been overhauled. Despite the downturn, the decision was made to go ahead with renovating the 319-room hotel over a 15 month period. This was done in conjunction with InterContinental Hotels Group’s Holiday Inn global relaunch programme.

‘We’re long term players. For us to refurbish in slightly more difficult economic times actually makes greater sense. If you do it in good times, you essentially take rooms out of the inventory,’ said Aron Harilela, director of Hong-Kong based property developer The Harilela Group, which owns the Holiday Inn in Singapore as well as other properties in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The group also owns three transit hotels here at Changi Airport, as well as a 20 per cent stake in Thomson Medical Centre.

Looking ahead, The Harilela Group is expanding its portfolio with the launch of two hotels in Tier 2 and 3 cities in China – the first of which will open in the second quarter of 2010 and the second in Q3 2011.

The two hotels, each costing US$15 million, will be funded by a mix of debt and equity. ‘We’re looking to do five hotels in China. There’s a big market for internationally branded, standardised products,’ said Dr Harilela, adding that land in Tier 1 cities tends to be priced exorbitantly.

Meanwhile, the Holiday Inn has out-performed the industry this year, according to general manager Shantha de Silva, with occupancy rates in the mid-80s, down from the low 90s in 2007-08.

Room rates this year have come down about 20 per cent compared to last year but remain in the low $200s.

‘We’ve been trading fairly robustly even, this year,’ said Mr de Silva. Business travellers make up 60-70 per cent of the clientele.

And Mr de Silva is confident that the hotel industry is likely to pick up soon.

Source : Business Times – 19 Nov 2009

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