Kerry plans 7.3b yuan hotel project in Hebei

Hong Kong-listed Kerry Properties said it would invest up to 7.3 billion yuan (HK$8.35 billion) in a hotel and residential project with ancillary commercial use in Hebei province.

Kerry will form a joint venture with its sister company Shangri-La Asia, Singapore's Jeston Investment and Hong Kong's Winson Terrace - a private company owned by Kuok Brothers.

According to the joint announcement by Kerry and Shangri-La posted on the Hong Kong stock exchange website, Kerry will hold a 40 per cent stake in the joint venture. Shangri-La will take 20 per cent, Jeston Investment will own 25 per cent and Winson will take the rest.

Kerry Properties said the companies had won bids for sites in Tangshan for a total of 1.7 billion yuan.

The four parties of the joint venture received three project sites, one with a 40-year hotel-use land right, one with a 70-year residential use and the other, a 40-year commercial use.

The company said that all the parties to the joint venture had received a confirmation from Tangshan's land resources bureau.

Kerry Properties will provide project development, construction management and project consultancy services to the joint venture company, and Shangri-La will manage the hotel after it is completed.

Hebei, a province which surrounds two cities directly managed by the government - Beijing and Tianjin - recorded gross domestic product growth of 12.9 per cent last year. It has averaged 12.2 per cent growth over the past few years.

The province hopes to gain a level economic playing field with Beijing and Tianjin and is trying to develop service, hi-tech and environmentally friendly industries.

Kerry Properties is controlled by the Kuok Group, the controlling shareholder of the SCMP Group, which publishes the South China Morning Post.

Mainland venture

Kerry Properties' stake in the hotel and residential development in Tangshan, Hebei, would be: 40%