HONG Kong property developer and owner Grand Central Holdings Ltd announced over the weekend it plans to build or manage 10 to 15 high-end resort hotels on the Chinese mainland over the coming three years.
Its plans form a strategic move to tap the country's fast-growing MICE - Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events - market.
The company, which specializes in development and management of upscale residential properties including serviced residences, said total investment might reach one to two billion yuan (US$133 million to US$266 million).
"We have seen a growing demand for this niche market and we wish to bring our resort properties to more scenic places which might include the northern and southern parts of China as well as the Yangtze River delta region," Annie Du, a business development official with the company, told Shanghai Daily at the opening ceremony of its first resort and spa property on the Chinese mainland in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, on Saturday.
The 45-suites Regalia Resort & Spa, located at the waterside of the famous Jin Ji Lake, is a joint project with Sipud, a major commercial real estate developer in Suzhou.
The Thai Privilege Spa, a healthcare company which runs spas in Bangkok, Phuket, New York, Dubai, Shanghai, among others, will manage the spa operations at Regalia, company officials said.
By 2009, the company plans to open its second resort property near Suzhou's Yangcheng Lake, where the country's best hairy crabs are farmed.