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CapitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence business, The Ascott, now has more than doubled its Citadines portfolio since from the initial 5,100 apartment units in 18 European cities in 2004, to more than 12,000 units in 81 properties and 52 cities across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region, following the announcement on Monday (13 April) that it has secured contracts to manage its first Citadines Apart’hotels in Vietnam, Sabah in Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The contracts include management of the 200-unit Citadines Regency Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 3, the 253-unit Citadines Waterfront Kota Kinabalu, and the 81-unit Citadines Culture Village Dubai.
“We see tremendous opportunities for our international-class serviced residences to expand in Vietnam, Malaysia and the UAE,” said Ascott CEO Lee Chee Koon.
Citadines Regency Saigon will offer apartments ranging from studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. “Vietnam has seen a steady growth in foreign direct investments in 2014, 70 percent of which were from the manufacturing and processing sectors. Visitor arrivals also grew to nearly 8 million last year and Ho Chi Minh City accounted for more than 50% of the arrivals. We expect demand for serviced residences from expatriates and travellers to increase. The addition of Citadines Regency Saigon will strengthen Ascott’s leadership position as the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in Vietnam,” Lee said. The property is slated to open in 2018.
Also scheduled to open in 2018 is Citadines Waterfront Kota Kinabalu which will offer a range of spacious studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments that come with a fully-equipped kitchen. “Demand for quality accommodation in Malaysia has been growing strongly as the country continues to attract foreign direct investments,” Lee commented, adding that being the first international brand of serviced residence in Sabah, the group expect strong demand for its Citadines property there.
Meanwhile, Citadines Culture Village Dubai, Ascott’s third property in the UAE is slated to open in 2017. The serviced residence will offer studios and one-bedroom apartments that are fully-equipped with a kitchen, living area and separate work area. It will expand Ascott’s portfolio to over 2,000 apartment units in 13 properties across five countries in the Gulf region.
“The launch of our Citadines brand in the UAE supports the growing demand from independent travellers who want the flexibility to choose the services they require as compared to luxury hotels that offer full services,” Lee said.
“The UAE and Saudi Arabia account for 70% of rooms in the region’s pipeline and we see great potential for further growth in this market,” he added.
The Ascott Limited has over 26,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region, as well as over 13,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 39,000 units in over 200 properties under three brands Ascott, Citadines and Somerset.
Image: Artist’s impression of Citadines Regency Saigon. (Source: The Ascott)
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg.
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