Hong Kong-listed Kai Yuan buys Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees hotel
HK-listed Kai Yuan pays €344.5m for five-star property to capitalise on city's tourism appeal
A Hong Kong investment company has agreed to pay €344.51 million (HK$3.61 billion) for the five-star Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees, as it targets mainland tourists' desire for luxury travel.
Kai Yuan Holdings announced its plan to buy the seven-floor, 100-year-old hotel in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Monday.
Shares in the firm surged 62 per cent yesterday to close at 15.7 HK cents.
Paris has been benefiting … as a global hub for business, culture and tourism
The company is mainly engaged in industrial investments on the mainland, including in steelmaking and supplying heating to cities.
It said it had been looking for investment opportunities in hotels to diversify revenue sources and capitalise on the growth of the global tourism industry.
"As the capital of the most visited country in the world, Paris has been benefiting from its importance as a global hub for business, culture and tourism," it said in the stock exchange filing.
France is the world's No1 tourist destination, with French government figures showing 83 million people visited last year. It is also the prime destination for mainland tourists, with a record 1.4 million visitors last year.