D|D&C Issue 11 by Tha Lia

Development Design & Construction issue 11 | January 2012

INSIDE THE HOUSE

UPPER HOUSE

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Development Design & Construction

Summary News: from around Asia

Profile : Upper House Hong Kong

Cafe Gray Deluxe Upper House, Hong Kong

hƩp://development-design-construcƟon.com/ Front Cover : Upper House

PRESENTER Thalia Andrews Editor Paul Snowdon ADVERTISING accounts@qube-3.com ADMINISTRATION Silailuk@qube-3.com

QUBE ConsulƟng (Thailand) Co., Ltd 973 President Tower, 11th Floor, Ploenchit Road, Lumpini Pathumwan, Bangkok Thailand 10330 Tel: +66 2 656 0500 ext 110 Tel: +66 8 0589 8479

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CHINA’S REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT FUND MARKET LOOKS TO BRIDGE $111 BILLION FINANCING GAP With the Chinese government clamping down on bank, bond, equity, and trust market financing for real estate projects in the country, property developers are being forced to look for alternate sources of financing as the change in regula on is set to create an es mated shor all in property financing of $111 billion in 2012. With sales and prices falling just as refinancing pressures increase, most developers are being forced into a fight or flight situa on with many players leaving the game, while those who remain launch their own investment funds. Among the first to set up their own funding vehicles are major developers such as China Overseas Land & Investment, Gemdale Corp, and Forte. However, they are unlikely to be the last as developers struggle to bridge the huge financial chasm that the change in regula on has created. In 2011, 29 property funds raised $4.1 billion. And while this represents an improvement on the $2.9 billion raised by 28 property funds in 2010, it is a drop in the ocean compared to the $111 billion needed for property

development and re-financing in 2012. Industry es mates predict up to $6 billion can be raised through real estate investment funds in 2012 with an annual expansion rate of 4050% over the next few years. Whether this is enough to prevent even more developers cu ng their losses and leaving the market remains to be seen. 

WHAT’S IN PIPELINE?

THE

There are currently 1,460 hotels with a total of 355,957 rooms in the Asia Pacific hotel development pipeline. Just over a quarter of these rooms (91,192) are in the upper upscale segment, while the upscale segment (23% / 81,748 rooms), the luxury segment (19.1% / 67,847 rooms), and the unaﬃliated segment (15.2% / 54,027 rooms) cons tuted the other significant sectors.

contact Sa ta at accounts@qube-3.com

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KL SET FOR ITS FIRST HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS InterCon nental Hotels Group Set to open in 2015, the hotel (IHG) and RB Capital have will include a self-service reached an agreement that will business centre and gym as well see IHG manage Kuala Lumpur’s as the brand’s trademark ‘Great first Holiday Inn Express. Room’ lounge and bar. With its Located on Bukit Bintang, the easy access to KL’s business and new 200-room hotel will be entertainment districts as well built by Amsterling Hotels Sdn as its facili es, the hotel will Bhd, a subsidiary of RB Capital. target both business and leisure MYANMAR HOTEL DEVELOPMENTS In a bid to counter a chronic shortage of hotel rooms in Yangon, the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) has put four proper es in the capital up for tender. The MIC announced that it has already received several applica ons from both local and foreign companies although it has yet to finalise any decisions. The tender closes on January 31 and the proper es are likely to

travellers. The Holiday Inn Express brand is going through a rapid expansion phase that includes a pipeline of more than 50 hotels with over 11,000 rooms in the Asia pacific region alone.

be made available on 20 to 30 year leases. The proper es on oﬀer are the Yangon Region Government oﬃce on Strand Road, an empty land parcel on the corner of Pyidaungsu Yeiktha and Pyay Road, a government housing complex on the junc on of Ahlone Road and Khayaypin Road, and the five-storey Myanmar Railway building on Merchant Street.. 

YAP TO BE PUT ON THE TOURISM MAP The li le known Micronesian island of Yap is about to receive a massive boost to its tourism industry following an agreement between the Yap Council of Pilung and Exhibi on & Travel Group (ETG) of China to develop a number of hotels, casinos, and conven on centres on the island. To accommodate the expected influx of tourists

from China, Japan, and Korea, the island’s airport will also be expanded and improved to cater to large commercial aircra . As part of the agreement, ETG will lease pockets of land from local landowners, who will be re-se led in surrounding villages. The villages will also be promoted as cultural a rac ons for the tourists.

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INDONESIA SET FOR 12 NEW PULLMAN HOTELS

CHINA’S REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT FUND MARKET LOOKS TO BRIDGE $111 BILLION FINANCING GAP

A er successfully opening 2 of its 5-star Pullman brand hotels in Bali and Jakarta last year, Accor has announced plans to launch another 12 of the luxury business hotels across Indonesia over the next 5 years. In addi on to the newly constructed Pullman hotels in Bali, Bandung, Medan, Surbaya, and Yogyakarta, Accor also plans to upgrade and re-brand exis ng 5-star hotels, including Hotel Nikko in Jakarta. 

With the Chinese government clamping down on bank, bond, equity, and trust market financing for real estate projects in the country, property developers are being forced to look for alternate sources of financing as the change in regula on is set to create an es mated shor all in property financing of $111 billion in 2012.

CONSTRUCTION BOOMING IN CAMBODIA According to a recent report by Cambodia’s Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construc on, the number of new construc on projects approved in 2011 totalled 2,129 with a combined value of $1.7 billion. Although the number of new projects was slightly down on the 2,149 approved in 2010, the financial value of these projects represented a 102% increase compared with the previous year. With much of the investment origina ng from overseas, especially Malaysia, South Korea, China, Vietnam and Japan, Cambodia’s real estate sector is expected to con nue growing by as much as 35% in 2012. 

With sales and prices falling just as refinancing pressures increase, most developers are being forced into a fight or flight situa on with many players leaving the game, while those who remain launch their own investment funds. Among the first to set up their own funding vehicles are major developers such as China Overseas Land & Investment,

Gemdale Corp, and Forte. However, they are unlikely to be the last as developers struggle to bridge the huge financial chasm that the change in regula on has created. In 2011, 29 property funds raised $4.1 billion. And while this represents an improvement on the $2.9 billion raised by 28 property funds in 2010, it is a drop in the ocean compared to the $111 billion needed for property development and re-financing in 2012. Industry es mates predict up to $6 billion can be raised through real estate investment funds in 2012 with an annual expansion rate of 40-50% over the next few years. Whether this is enough to prevent even more developers cu ng their losses and leaving the market remains to be seen.

EVERGRANDE DIVERSIFIES ON THE BACK OF A FLAT SALES FORECAST FOR CHINA’S RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MARKET China’s second largest real estate developer by sales value, Evergrande Real Estate, has reached a strategic investment agreement with the municipal government of Harbin to invest $2.4 billion in the construc on of a major tourism project in the north-eastern Chinese city. No meframe has yet been set for the project, which will

incorporate a theme park, a hotel, and various retail outlets. The move represents a change of strategy for Evergrande, which tradi onally develops mid-market residen al projects in China’s second- and third- er ci es. The company is keen to diversify with flat sales forecast for China’s residen al market in 2012.

Understated Luxury www.riverbirches.co.nz

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above: bathroom left: studio 70

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n keeping with the “trendiness and the chic-ness” of boutique hotels, the Upper House Hong Kong Sits proudly and sleekly within Pacific Place in Admiralty. A high rise hotel, where understated luxury meets contemporary boutique chic is set against the vibrant backdrop of the Hong Kong harbor.

Designed by Andre Fu of AFSO, each of the 117 rooms including 23 suites are designed to be “calming and contemporary”. Big bedrooms, enormous bathrooms, floor to ceiling windows with beckoning island and harbor views equipped with in room body sensors, and controlled by an ipod touch; the rooms are a beautiful marriage of design and technology that comes complete with LCD TV with 2.1 surround sound with simple connectivity for PC, Camcorder and MP3. The minibar concept is turned on its head with in-room “maxibars” stocked with complimentary jars of cookies, chocolates, sweets, teas, juices and beer, and if none of that satisfies, guests simply browse and order snacks on their ipod touch. In fact, requests for information and service and not to mention check-in and check-out can be made through the use of the ipod and other up-to-theminute technology in keeping with the hotel’s eco

Come to my house UPPER HOUSE D|D&C | 7

initiatives; one initiative is to be as paperless as possible. Guests who are tempted away from the comfort of their calm, comfortable and contemporary rooms only need to take the take the elevator up to the 49th floor and step into the jaw dropping widescreen view of Victoria Harbour in Café Gray Deluxe. Featuring a 14 meter long open kitchen with an equally long marble bar, serving creative concoctions by a master mixologist, Café Gray Deluxe is already an institution for the hip and the funky, both local and international wanting to see and be seen. An outdoor secret garden on Level 6 offers another surprise, a lawn bar to relax and enjoy cocktails

and garden snacks while loafing on bean bags under the Hong Kong Skyline. The Upper House is full of stylish designs and charming quirks with its embrace of technology to its decadent emphasis of location and space. Natural materials are seen throughout the hotel while distinctive sculptures, original artworks and modern architecture punctuate the space in between. Whatever the demarcation of “boutique” is, The Upper House defines it. Cool notes, a touch of modernism, an interpretation of luxury through simplicity and pervasive technology all dressed up in minimalist style.

above: Cafe Gray Deluxe right: Lawn

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EfďŹ cient Design, Engineering and Material Technologies for High Performance Building Envelopes Conference: 25 - 26 April 2012 | Site Visit - Resorts World Sentosa: 24 April 2012 Technical Workshops: 27 April 2012 | Venue: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

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