Ctrip wins investor honours

SHANGHAI, 17 July 2017: Ctrip.com International has been recognised as a “Most Honoured Company” in the Technology, Media, & Telecommunications: internet category by Institutional Investor in its 2017 All-Asia Executive Team Rankings.

The tour operators, chief executive officer, Jane Jie Sun, was named one of the “Best CEOs”; chief financial officer, Cindy Wang, was named one of the “Best CFOs”; and Ctrip Investor Relations was named one of the “Best Investor Relations Programmes”.

Institutional Investor is a leading international business-to-business publisher, focused primarily on international finance. Read more

Hotel CEOs gather for Bangkok summit

BANGKOK, 29 May 2017: The inaugural Southeast Asia Hotel Investors’ Summit will be held 13 to 17 June at Dusit Thani Bangkok, the flagship hotel of Thailand-based, Dusit International.

SEAHIS 2017 will bring together hotel company CEOs and other senior executives from around the region for what promises to be an unusually direct and hard-hitting series of debates.

Organised by HOFTEL, the world’s only global hotel owners’ alliance, which also organises the annual Gulf and Indian Ocean Hotel Investors’ Summit (GIOHIS), SEAHIS will feature not only Thai hotel leaders, but also respected names from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Maldives and Australia.

Among the confirmed speakers at SEAHIS 2017 are: James Riley, group CEO and executive director of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group; Jennifer Cronin, president of Niccolo Hotels & Marco Polo Hotels; Vincent Yeo, CEO of M&C Reit Management; Tan Juay Hiang, CEO at Ascendas Hospitality Fund Management Pte Ltd; Ricky Ang, COO of Swiss-Garden International Hotels, Resorts & Inns; Peter Ryder, CEO of Indochina Capital; and Ron Barrott, CEO of Pro-invest Group. Read more

Rakhine resuscitate dead airport

RAKHINE STATE, 20 February 2017: The Rakhine State government, in Myanmar, has invited private developers to accelerate construction of an airport at the ancient city of Mrauk U in northern region of the state.

Irrawaddy media quoted the regional transport minister, U Aung Kyaw Zan, saying the state government has called on private investors to bid for a build-operate-transfer contract that would speed up completion of an airport, now years behind schedule.

“We are calling on international and local companies to invest and to continue the project…it is estimated the finished project would cost 26 billion kyats (USD18.9 million).” Read more

AHTIC draws investors to Colombo

COLOMBO, 25 November 2016: An independent report on Sri Lanka’s tourism prospects by one of the world’s leading providers of global business intelligence confirmed the Indian Ocean island currently offers some of the region’s best opportunities for investment.

The report by Euromonitor International remains critical of infrastructure shortcomings and notes airport capacity is lagging behind demand and telecom connectivity is still a problem.

But overall the report notes that the government is addressing the issues and realises the golden opportunity that tourism offers the island. Read more

Developers look for sites in Yangon

YANGON, 31 August 2015: Myanmar Investment Commission says the relocation of five cancelled real estate projects planned for sites close to Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda will be finalised by the end of the year.

Irrawaddy media quoted MIC secretary, Aung Naing Oo, saying investors would be given alternative plots in Yangon to compensate for the government’s  cancellation order last July.

However the news channel said government officials were demanding that developers first find suitable sites by negotiating with government departments that own most of the prime spots in the city.

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Luang Prabang seeks investors

LUANG PRABANG, 28 August 2015: Laos says it will focus on attracting tourism investment to Luang Prabang province to boost tourist arrivals, but there are concerns that very little of the revenue will benefit the local community.

Lao News Agency reported the government has spent just USD650,000 developing tourist attractions in Luang Prabang, which is a paltry figure considering the revenue tourism earns in taxes.

Luang Prabang Department of Information, Culture and Tourism head, Ounchanh Souvannalith, said over the past five years, the government has approved nine projects that will improve 228 tourist sites. These included 86 cultural attractions, 108 natural tourist sites, and 34 historical tourist attractions.

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Cash grants for rooms

QUANG BINH, 29 January 2015: Quang Binh province has recently approved a plan to provide grants to encourage investors to  build more hotels and restaurants.

Local media reported that the province would support construction costs by paying USD23 per square metre to each restaurant project in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Bang tourism area that can serve more than 150 visitors.

A grant of USD460 will also go to a two-star hotel project,  USD690 per room for a three-star hotel and USD920 for a four and five-star hotel.

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