October 2011 - Hong Kong– Winners of the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) Merger & Acquisition Deal of the Year, Single Asset Transaction of the Year, and the Reggie Shiu Development of the Year Awards were announced today at the 22nd annual HICAP, held at the InterContinental Hong Kong.  HICAP is hosted by BHN, Horwath HTL, and Stiles Capital Events.

The acquisition of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts by New World Hospitality for USD229.5 in July 2011 was the winner of the HICAP Merger & Acquisition Deal of the Year Award.  Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, with an international collection of luxury hotels, will operate as the premium ultra-luxury brand in New World Hospitality’s portfolio.

The HICAP Single Asset Deal of the Year voting resulted in a tie between the Crown Plaza Changi Airport Hotel in Singapore and the Laguna Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand.  Overseas Union Enterprise Limited (OUE) acquired the  320-key Crowne Plaza Changi Airport Hotel from joint owners Runway 38 Limited and LC Hotels Pte Ltd, for SGD 293m (USD 243m), representing the largest single hotel transaction in Asia Pacific in 2011 year-to-date.  A subsidiary of Real Estate Capital Asia Partners II purchased the 254-room Laguna Beach Resort in for THB1.45b (USD 47m) from joint owners Laguna Hotels & Resorts LLC and Inter-Pacific Group in May 2011.

The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, received the Reggie Shiu Development of the Year Award.The hotel opened March 2011 with 312 rooms, occupying floors 102-118 of the International Commerce Centre, a 262,000sqm mixed-use tower in the West Kowloon financial hub that towers over all of Hong Kong. The entire tower was developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties at a cost of HKD29b.
 
This year’s HICAP attracted nearly 800 hotel investment leaders from around the world.  The 23rd annual HICAP will be held 10-12 October 2012, at the InterContinental Hong Kong.  Additional information is available at www.HICAPconference.com .

About HICAP
HICAP is Asia’s largest and longest running hotel investment event, making it the most important gathering of hotel developers, investors, lenders, operators, and other industry executives for information exchange, trend spotting, and deal making.  About 800 delegates attended the 22nd annual HICAP held 12-14 October 2011, at the InterContinental Hong Kong.

About BHN
BHN is the worldwide leader in developing and organizing conferences for the hotel and tourism investment community.  With more than two decades of experience, over 90 events completed or in production to-date, and more than 66,000 international delegates, BHN conferences have become “must attend” events for industry leaders who come together to network, conduct business and to learn about the latest trends.  BHN events include: the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles; the ALIS Summer Update in Dallas; the Caribbean Hotel & Resort Investment Summit (CHRIS) in Miami; the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) in Hong Kong; HICAP UPDATE in Singapore; HICAP JAPAN in Tokyo; the Hotel Investment Forum India (HIFI) in Mumbai, the Hotel Opportunities Latin America (HOLA) conference in Miami; and the Hotel Investment Conference Europe (Hot.E) in London.

The BHN website at www.Burba.com is the gateway for information about the conferences BHN produces, as well as a direct link to important players in the hospitality investment world.

About Horwath HTL
Horwath HTL is the world’s largest hotel industry specialized consulting organization, currently with 45 offices in 36 countries. Since the set-up of Asia Pacific operations in 1987, Horwath HTL has been involved with over 2,000 projects throughout the region in all phases of the property lifecycle for clients ranging from individually owned businesses to the world’s most prominent hotel companies, developers, lenders, investors, and industrial corporations. Horwath HTL currently operates out of regional offices in Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Sydney, and Auckland.

About SCE
Stiles Capital Events LLC (SCE)  -  Event management, communications and marketing in the publishing, entertainment and hospitality industries since 1990. The SCE team has been associated with the development and organization of the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) since its inception and the subsequent launches of HICAP JAPAN and HICAP UPDATE. SCE is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.