Ascott bares global expansion plans

MANILA, Philippines –  CapitaLand’s wholly owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited, has announced its target to grow its global portfolio to 40,000 apartment units from the current 26,000 by 2015.

Its global expansion plans were unveiled at the launch of the 278-unit Ascott Huai Hai Road Shanghai.

The company has also secured contracts to manage four premier Ascott-branded properties with over 800 apartment units in four cities in China, namely Ningbo, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Guangzhou.

In Europe, Ascott is converting its Citadines Paris Louvre into Ascott Louvre Paris, the company’s first Ascott-branded property in France. The conversion of the 51-unit serviced residence will be completed in 2011.

Lim Ming Yan, Ascott’s chief executive officer, said, “We are aiming for transformational change in Ascott. Growing our global portfolio to 40,000 apartment units by 2015 is one important part of this change.”

The 278-unit Ascott Huai Hai Road Shanghai is Ascott’s largest serviced residence in the city. It is part of the prestigious Hong Kong Plaza, an integrated lifestyle development comprising offices, retail outlets and entertainment facilities.

“The greater scale will allow us to further upgrade our people and systems to create more value for our customers and ultimately more value for our properties. Besides adding new properties, such as the four new Ascott-branded residences in China, we are also investing S$50 million to refurbish over 10 existing properties in Asia and Europe in the next 12 months,” Lim added.

Recently upgraded Cita-dines South Kensington, Somerset Liang Court and Somerset Grand Cairnhill are all well received and appreciated by Ascott’s customers, he said.

Lim said Ascott’s strategy is to extend its dominance in key cities in the Asia-Pacific and Europe through investments and management contracts.

‘We are aiming for transformational change in Ascott,’ says The Ascott Limited CEO Lim Ming Yan.

“Our Singapore-listed REIT, Ascott Residence Trust, and private equity funds such as Ascott China Fund are strong platforms that will enable us to grow rapidly. China, Vietnam, Singapore and India continue to be our key growth markets in Asia,” Lim said.

In Europe, Lim said Ascott will build upon its strong presence in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

“We will also seek opportunities in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and the Eastern European countries. Over the last few years, Ascott has been contributing about 10 percent of CapitaLand’s earnings,” he said.

“Looking ahead, for Ascott to be a significant part of CapitaLand, we hope that Ascott will be able to contribute up to 20 percent of CapitaLand’s earnings,” he added.

In the Philippines, Ascott Limited owns three properties in the busy Makati financial district, Ascott Makati, Somerset Millennium and Somerset Salcedo, and manages one, Somerset Olympia.