Capitaland Limited’s wholly owned serviced residence business unit has made a dramatic entrance into the popular destinations of Cebu in the Philippines and Pattaya in Thailand by securing five new contracts to manage 875 apartment units in Southeast Asia. With 14 management contracts signed in Southeast Asia this year, The Ascott Limited (Ascott) has added more than 2,700 serviced residence units in the region; more than triple the number of units added in the same region for the whole of 2014.
Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s chief executive officer, says: 'We have ramped up our expansion in Southeast Asia as we see strong growth potential in the long-term. With more than 13,000 apartment units in 73 properties across eight countries in Southeast Asia, over 30 per cent of Ascott’s global footprint is now concentrated in this fast-growing region. 'Southeast Asia is shaping up to be one of the most vibrant and attractive markets for foreign investors – with a young population driving domestic demand, growing export figures and various economic policies in place to attract foreign capital. The upcoming ASEAN Economic Community will not only boost economic integration in the region, it will also transform Southeast Asia into an economic powerhouse with a population of more than 600 million.' Lee adds, 'This year, we have also secured properties in Jakarta and Yogyakarta in Indonesia; Kota Kinabalu, Nusajaya and Miri in Malaysia; Bangkok and Sri Racha in Thailand as well as Binh Duong province and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Ascott is also present in the Southeast Asian cities of Yangon, Myanmar and Vientiane, Laos. We will continue to make inroads into new cities with strong growth potential and deepen our presence in the world’s capital cities to achieve our target of 80,000 units globally by 2020.' The new management contracts in Cebu and Pattaya will strengthen Ascott’s position as the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in the Philippines and Thailand. Ascott has more than 1,600 units in eight serviced residences and 2,800 units across 16 properties respectively in the two countries. The 108-unit Citadines Cebu City is slated to open in 2019 while the four new properties in Thailand – Citadines North Pattaya, Citadines Central Pattaya, Citadines Jomtien Beach Pattaya and Somerset Wong Amat Beach Pattaya – will be ready to welcome guests from 2018 onwards.