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| New York. June 11, 1999. Six international
hotel experts were members of the executive panel organized to discuss
the current state of the hotel industry in Asia as part of the 21st Annual
NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, June 6-8,
in New York City. The panel presented its findings this week to an
audience of industry professionals attending the conference at the New
York Marriott Marquis Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
The discussion topic was "International Market Spotlight: Asia and the Pacific Rim." Background on the current state of the regional economy was presented by Mr. Patrick Quek, President and CEO of PKF Consulting. Mr. Quek also served as moderator of the panel. The Asia division of Mr. Quek's company, Hospitality Asset Advisors, Pte Ltd, is headquartered in Singapore. Panelists included Mr. Theodore Teng, President-Asia/Pacific of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Mr. Richard C. Helfer, President of Raffles Holdings and Chairman and CEO of Raffles International Ltd.., and Mr. Ichigo Umehara, President of Pan Pacific Hotels. Raffles, Pan Pacific, and the Asia division of Starwood are all headquartered in Singapore. Also on the panel were Mr. William J. R. Cross, Asia/Pacific Regional Director for Knight Frank Expotel, and Mr. Peter Barge, Chairman and CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. Both Mr. Cross and Mr. Barge are headquartered Australia. Mr. Quek pointed out that, while the past two years have been disappointing for investors in Asia/Pacific hotels, a sense of stability for the industry is returning to the region. A highlight of the panel's presentation was PC-generated online opinion
poll to determine the "Top Five Countries" in the Asia/Pacific region in
terms of hotel investment opportunity. The poll results, in order
of preference, were as follows:
The conference, which is annually sponsored by New York University, drew more than 1,800 attendees this year. It is the largest and, at 21 years, the longest-running hotel investment conference in the world. PKF Consulting, is an international hospitality and real estate consulting firm with offices in nine U.S. cities. Its Asia division, Hospitality Asset Advisors, Pte, Ltd, is based in Singapore. PKF Consulting, together with its associated hotel brokerage firm, PKF Investments, and the Asia division are all wholly owned subsidiaries of Hospitality Asset Advisors International. |
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