Tuesday, November 1, 2011

KIH investing nearly US$100m on expansion

By Sharen Kaur
sharen@nstp.com.my
Published in NST on October 31 2011


KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Kong-based Kosmopolito Hotels International Ltd (KHI) is investing close to US$100 million (RM307 million) to expand its hotel portfolio. The plan includes managing two new properties in Malaysia.

Elsewhere, the company is setting up two hotels each in China and Hong Kong under the Dorsett Regency label, which will open next year, said president Winnie Chiu Wing Kwan.

By 2013, KHI will open a hotel each in Singapore and London, under the same label, she said.
"The whole company is about growth. In the next five years, we aim to increase the rooms to 6,630 from 4,176 currently. We have enough loans to cover our expansion so there is no need to raise funds for now," Chiu told Business Times in an interview recently.

"The strategy for us is really China. We believe in the growth of tourism in China. If you look at statistics, Chinese people are still travelling. As they get more accustomed to our brand, we believe they will continue to stay with us. We plan to have a presence in more cities, albeit cautiously," she said.

Set up in January 2007 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2010, KHI is a fast-growing developer, owner and operator of 17 hotels in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and China. 

The company, wholly owned by Far East Consortium International Ltd, was founded by Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri David Chiu.

It operates hotels under four key brands in different market segments. They are the upscale Hotel Kosmopolito, boutique series by Kosmopolito, mid-scale business hotel Dorsett Regency and economy hotel Silka.

For the financial year ended March 31 2011, KHI posted net profit of HK$208 million (RM82 million), 354.9 per cent higher than the previous year, driven by strong growth in revenue (HK$876 million or RM346 million) and net gains from non-recurring items.

Its average room occupancy rate was 79 per cent. 

Chiu said plans in the pipeline include KHI buying industrial buildings and converting them into hotels, and taking advantage of cheap properties available under the current market conditions.

"I believe in good corporate governance and transparency and will continue to have quarterly updates on what we do and plan. This is to let our shareholders know where we are heading," she said.

"We are heavily bought by foreign funds from the US, Europe and Singapore. Our next growth area will be Australia and Taiwan," she added.

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