Jinling Hotels & Resorts has signed an alliance with Regal Hotels International and agreed to cooperate in a number of different areas including F&B, training and corporate culture. 

Jinling’s President Frank Hou said, ‘Expanding hotel chain properties, increasing brand name recognition, making full use of shared resources and forming cooperation that hold value are the ideal ways for Chinese hotels to succeed’. 

Regal Hotels International (RHI) is a Hong Kong-based hotel chain where it currently has five properties. In the mainland it operates Regal International East Asia Hotel and Regal Shanghai East Asia Hotel. (Two different properties but both in Shanghai).
Source: Jinling Hotels & Resorts

A reversal of the usual trend. Regal Hotels International Holdings (it has a portfolio of hotels in Hong Kong but not mainland China which it was seriously intending to start operations) has shelved, at least for the time being, its public offering of its real estate investment trust because of weak investor interest. Part of the money from the public offering would have been used to invest in hotels in China. All of this according to The Standard in Hongkong which cites the usual unnamed source. But it seems solid news and has been confirmed by Bloomberg News Service.

The company will delay the offering until it sees revived investor interest in real estate investment trusts. One factor might be that News Sunlight Real Estate Investment Trust, Hong Kong’s first trust with both retail and office assets, has fallen 5.4% since its trading debut last week. This does not augur well.

This is the second time the company has delayed its planned public offering of the trust. Earlier this month, Regal delayed a shareholder meeting to approve the sale by about a month because of errors in the offering documents. The idea was a substantial slab of the money raised was going to be used in hotel investments in China. Now that has been delayed somewhat.
Source: Shanghai Daily

Start with the fact that Regal Hotels International Holdings, the Hong Kong hotel company, is expecting to be seriously cashed up from the proceeds of its upcoming REIT which will happen in January. The company will hang on to close to half the company after the REIT. At which point the company will have about RMB5 billion (US$650,000) in the cash box.

Speaking after the company annual general meeting — everyone in favor of the REIT spin-off — the chairman and managing director Lo Yuk-sui (seen above) said Regal Hotels will put the money in balanced short, medium and long term investments to get a ‘reasonable return.’ Good sensible stuff.

Then he said Regal Hotels would remain focused on hotel properties. He said, ‘Whether investment in shares is better than actually doing business, I personally think we should keep our feet on the ground and concentrate on the main business.’ He then said, ‘We hope to apply very soon for a management license for greater China and other places.’

Currently Regal Hotels is looking at China’s main and second-tier cities, gateway cities and resort areas.
Source: The Standard