Bookmark & Share
The Ascott Limited, CapitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence arm, announced on Thursday (4 January) that it has been appointed to manage nine additional properties in China with more than 2,000 units.
Among these, Somerset Gubei Shanghai is expected to open this year, followed by Ascott Raffles City Chongqing and Tujia Somerset City Hub Zhuhai Serviced Residence in 2019.
Ascott Jing’an Shanghai and Citadines Baoyu Riverview are anticipated to start operating by 2020. Meanwhile, Ascott Zumiao Foshan, Ascott Gaoxin Wuxi and Gaoxin Serviced Residence Wuxi will welcome their first guests in 2021, while Ascott Hengqin Zhuhai will do so by 2023.
With these properties, Ascott has added over 5,600 units across 28 properties in China last year compared to only 15 properties with around 2,700 units in 2016. As a result, it now has a portfolio of more than 110 properties across 31 Chinese cities with over 20,000 units, surpassing its 2020 target.
“With these nine new management contracts secured in China, Ascott has exceeded our target of 20,000 units for our biggest market China three years ahead of schedule,” said Ascott’s newly appointed CEO Kevin Goh.
This allowed Ascott to beef up its presence in Wuxi, Foshan, Chongqing and Shanghai, as well as expand into two new Chinese cities, namely Harbin and Zhuhai.
“Harbin is a key political, economic and technological centre of Northeast China while our entry into Zhuhai will entrench Ascott’s business in South China, specifically the economic zone of the Pearl River Delta, one of the fastest growing regions in China that are earmarked for further development into a world-class metropolis,” noted Ascott’s Managing Director for China Tan Tze Shang.
He added that they will also open Ascott’s first lyf property in Shenzhen this year. Dubbed as lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen, the serviced residence will cater to a growing group of millennials and digital natives in the country.
Overall, Goh highlighted that Ascott has added a record of around 24,000 units in 2017 and its global portfolio has exceeded 72,000 units.
“As we scaled up, we also opened 18 properties with close to 3,800 units last year in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, the U.S., and this includes our first properties in Cambodia and Turkey.”
“We are confident of achieving our global target of 80,000 units in 2018, well ahead of 2020 as we press ahead with our aggressive expansion plans via strategic alliances, management contracts, franchises and investments,” he added.
This article was edited by Keshia Faculin.
Related Articles:
Retail Reits starts at “negative” on structural challenges, rising rates