Ascott Riverside Garden Beijing, one of the recently opened property in China, started operations in October last year

Ascott reaches 20,000 unit target early as China expansion continues apace

4 January 2018

Ascott has exceeded its target of 20,000 units for China in 2017, ahead of its planned schedule of 2020, as it sealed contracts to manage nine properties with over 2,000 units in the country.

With these new properties, Ascott made inroads into new cities such as Harbin and Zhuhai, and widened its presence in Chongqing, Foshan, Shanghai and Wuxi.

It also marked a record year of growth in China, as it added over 5,600 units across 28 properties in 2017, double the over 2,700 units across 15 properties added in 2016.

Kevin Goh, newly appointed Ascott chief executive, said: “With these nine new management contracts secured in China, Ascott has exceeded our target of 20,000 units for our biggest market China three years ahead of schedule.

“Last year was our strongest year as Ascott’s global portfolio crossed 72,000 units, adding a record high of about 24,000 units within the year.

“We are confident of achieving our global target of 80,000 units in 2018, well ahead of 2020 as we press ahead with our aggressive expansion plans via strategic alliances, management contracts, franchises and investments.”

Goh added: “As we scaled up, we also opened 18 properties with close to 3,800 units last year in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, the US, and this includes our first properties in Cambodia and Turkey.”

In China, Ascott has a portfolio of over 20,000 units in more than 110 properties across 31 cities.

Of the nine new properties, Somerset Gubei Shanghai will be the first to open in 2018, while Ascott Raffles City Chongqing and Tujia Somerset City Hub Zhuhai Serviced Residence are scheduled to open in 2019.

Meanwhile, Ascott Jing’an Shanghai and Citadines Baoyu Riverview Harbin are targeted to open in 2020.

Ascott Zumiao Foshan, Ascott Gaoxin Wuxi and Gaoxin Serviced Residence Wuxi are slated to start operations in 2021 while Ascott Hengqin Zhuhai is due to open in 2023.

Besides Ascott Raffles City Chongqing, four other properties which are part of CapitaLand’s Raffles City-branded integrated developments include operating ones such as Ascott Raffles City Beijing, Ascott Raffles City Chengdu, and Ascott Raffles City Shenzhen, as well as Ascott Raffles City Hangzhou which is slated to open in the third quarter of 2018.