AccorHotels Restructures Major Lease Portfolio in Australia

AccorHotels announced that it has reached an agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to restructure a portfolio of 31 hotels (4,097 rooms) in Australia. The portfolio was purchased by the ADIA subsidiary in 2013 and operated by AccorHotels. Under this agreement, AccorHotels will convert 15 triple-net leases into 50-year management agreements, and extend the management term of one hotel also to 50 years (total 16 hotels). Furthermore, AccorHotels (HotelInvest) will acquire the real estate of the remaining 15 ibis and ibis Budget branded properties for AUD$200 million. The hotels are in prime locations in Canberra and Sydney, including Sydney’s Darling Harbor and Sydney Olympic Park. The portfolio is also spread across city and regional locations in New South Wales, Victoria, Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland, and encompasses the Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis Budget brands. 

Hilton Signs Agreement to Manage Dual-Branded Hotel in Hanoi

Hilton has announced the signing of a management agreement with Victory Hotel Joint Stock Company (part of the BRG Group) to manage a 610-key dual-branded hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. Owned by BRG Group and managed by Hilton, the property will feature the Hilton Hotel West Lake, with 240 guest rooms and suites as well as 50 serviced residences, and the DoubleTree by Hilton Hanoi West Lake offering 320 rooms and suites. Projected to open in 2020, the property is located on Hanoi’s iconic West Lake, in the fringe of the Central Business District. With a total of 2,993 square meters of meeting space between both hotels, the property also aims to cater to large groups and major MICE events. This is Hilton’s third project with BRG Group in Hanoi, which also owns the Hilton Hanoi Opera and the Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi.

MUJI’s First Hotel to Open in Shenzhen, China

Japanese retail company, MUJI, recently announced its first global ‘three in one project’, integrating retail store, restaurant and hotel, to be established within Upperhills – an urban complex including an industrial R&D as well as apartment, hotel and commercial components, in the central Futian District of Shenzhen, China. Designed and owned by MUJI, and managed by Shum YIP Group, the new 79-room property will feature five different room types, ranging between a minimum size of 25 square meters and a maximum of 61 square meters. Additional facilities at the MUJI Hotel Shenzhen will include a gym, meeting facilities, Café & Meal MUJI and Open MUJI – a social space for communication between local consumers and world famous designers. The property is scheduled to open in the second half of 2017.

Singapore and Malaysia to Collaborate in Environment and Tourism Sectors

As each other’s second-largest trading partners, Singapore and Malaysia look to strengthen ties in both the environment and tourism sectors, in the years to come. Recently, Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak signed an agreement on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail, which is expected to commence operations by 31 December, 2026. With a total of eight stations, the high-speed rail line will span 350 kilometers, most of it being in Malaysia, and its implementation will reduce travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes, as compared to the current four-hour-long drive. In addition to this collaboration, Singapore’s Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Johor’s Pulau Kukup will be promoted as a joint eco-tourism initiative, once upgrading works at Pulau Kukup have been completed. 

Absolute Share Price Performance, as on 29 Dec 2016