SINGAPORE: Ascott To Manage 14 Properties In China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

The Ascott Limited, has clinched contracts to manage 14 properties with over 2,000 units across eight countries namely: China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

Three of the 14 new properties are under its co-living ‘lyf’ brand, strategically located in the vibrant cities of Fukuoka in Japan, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Shanghai in China.

Under a partnership with Japanese real estate company, NTT Urban Development Corporation – a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Ascott will manage lyf Fukuoka as well as jointly explore serviced residence opportunities in Japan.

The 131-unit lyf property, nestled within Fukuoka’s major retail and recreational centre, is targeted to open in 2020.

Meanwhile, the 160-unit lyf Hongqiao Shanghai, strategically located in the Central Business District of Hongqiao, is set to open in 2022. lyf Raja Chulan Kuala Lumpur, which resides within Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle, the Malaysian capital city’s commercial, shopping and entertainment hub, is scheduled to open in 2020.

Mr Kevin Goh, Ascott’s Chief Executive Officer, said: Demand for our lyf-branded co-living properties is gaining ground.

We are bringing lyf to Fukuoka, Kuala Lumpur, and Shanghai as the buzzing start-up ecosystems in these cities have given rise to a popular culture of living and co-creating as a community among the millennials.

Ascott’s lyf properties, with their flexible communal spaces and social programmes, will cater to the lifestyle aspirations of creative professionals, technopreneurs, trendsetters and millennial travellers who seek collaborative and networking opportunities in the community.

Millennials already account for a quarter of Ascott’s customer base; and with our lyf brand, we can seize opportunities presented by the booming millennial generation, set to become the largest spending travel demographic in the near future.

Besides Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines where we will be opening lyf properties, we are also looking to bring lyf to other potential markets including Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom.

The 14 new properties marked Ascott’s first foray into Changchun, the second largest city in Northeast China, and deepened its presence in Foshan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; Frankfurt, Germany; Fukuoka, Japan; Gurgaon, India; Jakarta and Semarang, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Pattaya, Thailand; and Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia.

The Ascott Limited is a member of CapitaLand. It is an international serviced residence owner-operator with more than 73,000 units in over 500 properties, spanning over 130 cities across 30 countries like the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Its portfolio of brands includes Ascott The Residence, Citadines Apart’hotel, Somerset Serviced Residence, Quest Apartment Hotels, The Crest Collection and lyf.

From 1984 to 2000, merger and acquisition activities involving real estate and hospitality players in Singapore, Scotts Holdings, Pidemco Land, Somerset International, Liang Court Holdings, Stamford Group, DBS Land and Citadines an established hospitality brand in Europe led to the establishment of The Ascott Limited.

In 2006, the company established the world's first pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust, the Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott REIT).

The Scotts Holdings, a Singapore corporation with business interests in serviced apartments, shopping centres and property investments, opened Asia Pacific's first international-class serviced residence, The Ascott Singapore on 14 August 1984.

Scotts Holdings was listed in 1991. In 1998, Pidemco Land set up Somerset International, its new serviced residence arm. It acquired Liang Court Holdings, one of Asia's largest serviced residence operators, to form Somerset Holdings.

Together, these two companies had a combined portfolio of 3,200 serviced residence units in 15 cities. Scotts Holdings merged with Stamford Group, the serviced residence arm of DBS Land to form The Ascott Limited, creating a joint portfolio of more than 1,700 units in eight cities.

Citadines merged with Orion, while Whitehall and Westmont later sold its tourist-oriented Orion serviced residences to focus on its business clientele.

In 2001, The Ascott Limited was listed following the merger of Somerset Holdings and The Ascott Limited in 2000. In the following year, Ascott acquired a 50 percent stake in Citadines, which made it the largest international serviced residence operator outside of the US.

In 2004, it acquired the remaining 50 percent interest in Citadines.

Ascott Reit was established with the goal of investing mainly in real estate related assets and real estate which are used or essentially used as rental housing properties, serviced residences and other hospitality assets which generates revenue.

With 11,430 units and 73 properties, in 37 cities across 14 countries, Ascott Reit has a presence in regions such as The Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe.

The asset size of Ascott Reit has grown to S$5.2 billion, four times the amount since it was listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX – ST) in March 2006.

Ascott Reit clinched the “Best REIT (Asia)” award by World Finance magazine at its Real Estate Awards in 2015.

Ascott Brands are:

- Ascott The Residence

- Citadines Apart'hotel

- Somerset Serviced Residence

- Quest Apartment Hotels

- The Crest Collection

- lyf


Tourism Observer

JAPAN: Kyushu Quakes Hit Region’s Tourism Sector

Tourism officials are increasingly concerned that a recent series of powerful earthquakes that have rattled central Kyushu could affect visitor numbers to the region.

Although the latest tourism data released Wednesday by the Japan Tourism Agency showed a continued rise in the number of foreign tourists arriving in March, the Kumamoto earthquakes will likely hit the government’s tourism drive hard.

The March data showed the number of foreign visitors to Japan surged 31.7 percent on-year to a record 2.01 million, marking the first time the monthly figure has surpassed 2 million.

Following the Kumamoto quake, however, the Chinese Consulate General in Fukuoka on Saturday warned Chinese citizens not to travel to Kumamoto, which was hit hardest by the quakes, and advised them to be careful in making trips to other parts of Kyushu.

Hong Kong authorities have also issued a caution for travel to Kumamoto.

Chinese travelers have brought great benefits to Japan’s tourism and other related industries partly through their bakugai (explosive buying) sprees.

As of Thursday afternoon, 48 fatalities have been directly linked to the quakes, with a further 11 deaths in Kumamoto Prefecture attributed to quake-related issues such as illness, stress and fatigue.

Foreigners have already started canceling their reservations at hotels in Kyushu.

An official at a major travel agency said it was difficult to forecast the course of demand because it remained to be seen at what pace restoration of transportation networks, such as roads and railways, will proceed.

After the quakes, Hotel Nikko Fukuoka received some 100 cancellations from foreigners, including those who had planned to travel around Kyushu.

Nippon Travel Agency Co. faced a rush of requests from foreigners who were scheduled to visit the three Kyushu prefectures of Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Fukuoka. Such requests included an extended stay in Kagoshima and changes in sightseeing plans in Kumamoto.