Kingdom comes to Asia
Prince al-Waleed Talal Abdul Aziz al-Saud’s Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI) continues to expand its hotel portfolio in Asia.
It has paid Malaysia Airlines US$124.3 million for the luxury Four Seasons Hotel on the island of Langkawi.
Billionaire Prince al-Waleed, a member of the Saudi royal family, co-owns the luxury Four Seasons hotel chain with Microsoft chairman and founder Bill Gates.
Al-Waleed was ranked number five in the Forbes 2005 list of the world’s richest people, and has an estimated fortune of US$23.7 billion.
Kingdom’s hotel interests cover 31 hotels – 13 of which are under development – in 17 countries. They include Four Seasons, Movenpick and Fairmont Raffles properties.
KHI recently acquired a prime beach site for the development of a US$65 million luxury resort and residences in Da Nang. It will be KHI’s first hotel in Vietnam.
Branded as Raffles Da Nang, the proposed resort will open in 2011 and feature approximately 150 hotel suites and 15 private residential villas for sale.
Raffles Da Nang will be KHI’s third venture in Asia, following the purchase of the Mövenpick Karon Beach Resort in 2006, and the acquisition of land for the development of a Raffles hotel in Phang Nga near Phuket.
The Da Nang acquisition was made through a joint venture company, which is 80 per cent owned by KHI and 20 per cent by European Hotels Corporation Ltd (EHC), KHI’s joint venture partner in Phang Nga and Marrakech.
Sarmad Zok, chief executive of KHI, said Raffles Da Nang Resort was ideally located on China Beach, and had a strong ancillary real estate offering.
He added, “This transaction successfully demonstrates the company’s ability to grow within Asia’s emerging markets and be a leading player in an area fast becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.”
Ian Jarrett
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