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Hong Kong hotel property buying spree looms as investors bet on tourism rebound, analysts say
- Occupancy rates are gradually recovering and many hotel owners are still prepared to offer discounts
- Confidence in the sector is returning as visitor numbers improve, say industry observers
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Investors are likely to snap up more hotels in Hong Kong as tourism slowly rebounds from Covid-19 and many owners are still prepared to offer discounts, say analysts.
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One major player hunting for bargains in the market is Hong Kong-listed Magnificent Hotel Investments which is looking to spend as much as HK$2 billion (US$255 million) to increase the number of rooms in its portfolio by a third in the coming years.
“We are currently bidding for hotel opportunities in Hong Kong, but we are not in a rush,” said William Cheng, the company’s chairman. “The price we are offering is quite a large discount, probably 30 to 40 per cent down from the prices of three years ago.”
The group already owns nine hotels – seven in Hong Kong, one in Shanghai and one in London. If its plan to acquire more properties priced between HK$700 million and HK$1.4 billion each is realised it is likely to end up with 4,000 keys, up from 3,000 currently, which would make it one of the five largest hotel owners and operators in the city alongside the likes of the developers Sun Hung Kai Properties and CK Asset Holdings, Cheng said.
The group’s latest acquisition was the Bay Bridge Lifestyle Retreat, a 435-room waterfront hotel in the western New Territories overlooking Tsing Ma Bridge. It paid HK$1.42 billion last year for the property, which is due to reopen in July in time for the summer holidays under its new name, the Grand Bayview Hotel, Cheng said.
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The hotelier’s bet on Hong Kong’s tourism recovery may prove a wise one.
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