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Briefs: Big India fund deal | Updating Trump numbers

Big India fund deal: The Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. on Friday announced a strategic partnership with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC for a US$600 million investment platform over three years. The platform will be used to acquire fully operational hotels, including distressed or underperforming hotels that can be turned around, in the luxury, upper upscale and upscale segments in India. IHCL will be able to pursue acquisitions in an asset light format, with the equity contribution from IHCL at 30% and the balance 70% contributed by GIC. Each acquisition is intended to be in a separate special-purpose vehicle with its own funding. The hotels acquired will be managed by IHCL under its various brands and complement the company’s current growth aspirations via management contracts.

Update on Trump’s 2018 results: The New York Times reported on Friday that U.S. President Trump’s family business saw a modest decline in business in 2018. While results were weakest at hotels in Chicago and Hawaii, the Trump International Hotel in Washington, which accounts for nearly 10% of the Trump Organization’s revenues, took in US$40.8 million, up about 1% from 2017. The Times reported the company had small upturns at some properties, including Trump National Doral in Florida, which brought in nearly US$76 million in 2018, up about 2% from the previous year. In total, Trump reported 2018 revenues of at least US$434.9 million, down about 4% for the year. He reported assets worth at least US$1.4 billion, about the same as 2017.

Read New York Times report

Sri Lanka woes: Since the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, hotel occupancy across the island has plummeted by 85% to 90%, according to an Associated Press report. According to government figures, there has been an 80% drop in arrivals since the attack. Tourism accounts for 4.9% of Sri Lanka’s GDP.

Read AP report

Accor residence in Phuket: Phuket, Thailand, mixed-use development MontAzure will develop Accor’s MGallery brand as a residential component as part of its next phase of development. MontAzure Lakeside will become the first MGallery Residences in Thailand, situated on Phuket’s Kamala Beach. The development spans some 178 acres (72 hectares) of mountainside to beachfront land. MGallery Residences are owned, developed, and sold by Kamala Beach Resort and Hotel Management Co., Ltd., a limited company registered in the Thailand. The property will be managed by Accor.

U.S. losing Chinese visitors: Chinese tourists are shunning the United States amid the trade war and opting for destinations in Europe, according to the chief executive of Chinese OTA Ctrip. In one year, the U.S. slid from 5th to 10th in the ranking of China’s top overseas destinations in a week-long national holiday in October known as the “golden week.” Thailand and Japan remain the top choices.

Read Inkstone report

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