December 11, 2000

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

1. Background

The Government of India (�GOI�) owns 89.97 per cent of the equity share capital of India Tourism Development Corporation (�ITDC� or the �Company�) and as part of its disinvestment programme has decided to restructure ITDC. The restructuring covers 26 hotel properties and includes either (a) handing over the hotel properties to established hotel chains for operating on a long-term structured contract on lease-cum-management basis, or (b) sale of the properties as separate entities. LAZARD INDIA LIMITED (�LAZARD�) has been retained as Advisor to GOI for the proposed restructuring and disinvestment.

ITDC�s hotel chain, The Ashok Group (the �Group�) has 33 hotels in 26 major tourist and business destinations across India. The range of hotels classified into three categories � �Elite�, �Classic� and �Comfort� varies from 5-star deluxe to budget hotels, from beach resorts to heritage properties. The hotels offer diverse specialty restaurants - Far Eastern, Continental and Indian and are equipped with extensive business and convention facilities. 

The Elite hotels are the Group�s 5-star properties that cater to the up-market clientele. The Classic group comprises the properties that meet the expectations of business travellers and mid-market guests. The Comfort category comprises the budget hotels that provide the basic home comforts to travellers.

2. Properties Being Offered

In the first tranche of the restructuring and disinvestment programme, the following 8 properties have been selected for which brief details are provided below. 
 

Pre-Qualification Criteria

Entities submitting an Expression of Interest (�EOI�) for the hotel properties mentioned at serial no. 1 and 2 above should be either established hotel operators of Indian and/or international repute owning and/or managing 5-star property (ies) or consortia having such hotel operators as member. 
 

Pre-Qualification Criteria

The entities (companies / joint ventures / consortia / hotel operators / hotel management companies - incorporated or not incorporated) submitting an EOI for the hotel properties mentioned at serial no. 3 through 8 above, should each have a combined net worth in excess of Rs.30 million as at the latest audited balance sheet date.

Additional information on ITDC and the above properties can be accessed at: www.theashokgroup.com

3. Foreign Direct Investment 

Sector specific guidelines on foreign direct investment for hotels and tourism given in the Manual on Industrial Policies & Procedures in India (Annexure IV, Point 18, Page 27) of the Secretariat for Industrial Assistance, Ministry of Industry, Government of India of February, 2000 will be applicable (http://indmin.nic.in).

4. Process

Entities interested in one or more of the above mentioned properties in the proposed restructuring and disinvestment (�Interested parties�), are required to apply for a Request for Qualification (RFQ) to Mr. Ashish Guha ([email protected]) or Mr. Chetan Shah ([email protected]) at Lazard India Limited, 62, Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi � 110 057 (Phone: 91-11-6145369 Fax: 91-11-6147482) not later than January 25, 2001. 

Entities shall submit a separate EOI for each property they are interested in. No interest will be entertained at a later stage in respect of properties for which a separate EOI has not been submitted.

In case of a joint venture proposed to be formed specifically for the purpose of this investment, the details of the members of the joint venture and the extent of their interest therein are required to be given as part of the EOI. Further changes in the membership of the proposed joint venture may be permitted up to the stage of submission of the financial bid, provided the quality of the joint venture is not adversely affected. GOI has the sole discretion to determine the impact of the change in membership on the quality of the joint venture and reject a proposal for such reason.

Interested Parties deemed fit by GOI/ ITDC and LAZARD  (�Qualified Interested Parties�) will subsequently be provided with further information to enable them to evaluate the opportunity.

This advertisement constitutes no form of commitment on part of GOI/ITDC or LAZARD INDIA LIMITED other than to provide further information on the restructuring and disinvestment process to the Qualified Interested Parties, which request for the same. Furthermore, this advertisement confers neither a right nor an expectation on any party to participate in the restructuring and disinvestment process. The GOI/ITDC and LAZARD INDIA LIMITED reserve the right to withdraw from the process or any part thereof or to vary any of its terms at any time without giving any reasons.