Hong Kong-listed CDL Hotels International has gained a presence in Jakarta by paying US$13.8 million for a substantial interest in an Indonesian company which owns a four-star hotel. The group bought an 80 per cent stake in Tanahabang Inda Pratama through its subsidiary Republic Hotels and Resorts (RHR). CDL director Gan Khai Choon said the 405-room Hotel Equatorial was valued at $52.75 million but the purchase cost only $13.8 million partly because the hotel carried a loan of $14.75 million. The purchase would be financed from RHR's cash resources of more than $60 million, he said. 'It is the group's first hotel in Indonesia which is one of the major cities that we are looking at,' he said. The 15-storey hotel opened two years ago, he said. It showed gross operating profit of more than 30 per cent last year and 35.6 per cent this year. Occupancy had increased to 62.7 per cent for the first four months of the year, from 50.55 per cent in the period last year, Mr Gan said. The property is on a 79,105 sq ft plot of leasehold land in Tanah Abang district, the thriving business sector of central Jakarta. The purchase brought CDL's hotel portfolio to 57 in 12 countries with 15,000 rooms, he said. In another transaction, CDL had undertaken a joint venture to develop a 50-storey, four-star hotel in Suzhou, China, involving an investment of $60 million, Mr Gan said. CDL owns 20 per cent of the 570-room hotel in Suzhou, with China Resources among the Chinese partners. The hotel, CDL's first mainland venture, was expected to be completed next year, he said. The group also was looking at hotel opportunities in Hong Kong.
