Ascott caps 30th Anniversary with continued strong growth

SINGAPORE – CapitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), is culminating its 30th anniversary by acquiring the recently-opened 185-unit Ascott Kuningan Jakarta for S$90 million under a conditional agreement with PT Ciputra Adigraha, a subsidiary of Jakarta-listed PT Ciputra Property Tbk (Ciputra). Ascott has also secured a contract to manage the 222-unit Ascott Waterfront Saigon from Canh Hung Hai Thanh Corporation, an affiliate company under the management of developer, M.I.K Corporation. The river-fronting property located in downtown Ho Chi Minh City will be the first Ascott-branded serviced residence in Vietnam and Ascott’s 13th property in the country when it opens in 2016.

Mr Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “2014 has been a tremendous year for Ascott as we added 25 properties with more than 4,500 apartment units to our global network through acquisitions, management contracts, strategic alliances, franchises and leases. Our latest acquisition of Ascott Kuningan Jakarta from our long-time partner, Ciputra, enables us to invest in a prime property in Indonesia which has a great potential for serviced residences given its strong economic growth. With the limited supply of high quality serviced residences in Jakarta and Ascott Kuningan Jakarta’s superb location within the Golden Triangle of the Central Business District (CBD), it is well-poised to cater to the large number of business travellers visiting Jakarta. On completion of the acquisition, the property will further strengthen Ascott’s position as the largest serviced residence owner-operator in Indonesia.”

Mr Lee said: “The introduction of our premier Ascott The Residence brand into Vietnam through Ascott Waterfront Saigon marks another milestone since we opened our first serviced residence in the country in 1994. Ascott Waterfront Saigon will set a new benchmark for luxury living in Vietnam, offering top business executives and industry leaders an exclusive environment and unparalleled service. Together with our existing stable of Somerset properties, which continue to be well received by expatriate families, this property will enable Ascott to cross the 2,000-unit mark and extend our leadership position in Vietnam. We are confident of Vietnam’s long-term economic fundamentals and continue to see good potential for serviced residences in the country.”

Mr Lee added: “Globally, we have opened 14 properties with over 2,000 apartment units so far this year and will be opening Somerset Vientiane, our first serviced residence in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), on 9 December. More properties such as Citadines LiZhiWan Guangzhou and Somerset Grandview Shenzhen will open before the end of 2014. We will continue to seek opportunities in key cities in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region to achieve our target of 80,000 apartment units worldwide by 2020. We will also continue to innovate and enhance our existing properties, and ensure that we deliver the high service standards that have defined our award-winning brands.”

To cap off its 30th year of hospitality excellence, Ascott scooped a total of 19 highly coveted accolades at the 2014 World Travel Awards for Asia & Australasia and Europe as well as at the Business Traveller Awards for China, Asia Pacific and Europe. These bring the number of accolades that Ascott has received to date in 2014 to 84, cementing its position as the global leader in the serviced residence industry.

Ascott Kuningan Jakarta.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia