VinaCapital Acquires 70 per cent Stake in Hilton Opera Hotel
The British fund manager VinaCapital announced on August 1 that it has invested $43 million in buying a 70 per cent stake in the Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel via its Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF) and Vietnam Real Estate Fund (VinaLand).
After acquiring all holdings from German and French partners, VinaCapital now becomes the hotel’s co-owner with a Vietnamese shareholder, the Thang Long Corporation.
The purchase into a high-profitability hotel is aimed to further consolidate the firm’s penetration into the real estate market in Vietnam.
The five-star Hotel is said to be the second most efficient in Hanoi behind the Sofitel Metropole only.
Horst Geicke, VinaCapital board chairman, said that investment in the hotel industry would be successful, especially in Hanoi where demands are increasing while the number of luxury hotel rooms is not sufficient.
The Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel, in particular, takes a very high position on the map of profit generating hotels, he said.
Located in the heart of the capital city close to the Hanoi Opera House, the Hotel has 269 rooms designed with French architecture. Operating from 1999, it is one of few five-star hotels in Hanoi that has enjoyed a high occupancy rate of over 80 per cent.
VinaCapital is one of best performing groups involved in investment, finance and real estate management in Vietnam. It has launched the London-listed US$171-million VOF and the US$200-million VinaLand and is planning a US$50 million Vietnam Technology Fund.
The firm is now developing a 260ha resort in central Danang city and also mulling some other hospitability projects in Ho Chi Minh City and Khanh Hoa province.
SGT, Youth
Vietnamese
