New Appointments At Ascott To Drive Growth In India

The Ascott Limited (http://www.the-ascott.com/) (Ascott), a wholly-owned serviced residence business unit of CapitaLand, has appointed Mr Vincent Wee as Managing Director for India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. He is responsible for developing growth strategies and managing Ascott's business in these regions. Mr Wee is concurrently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ascott Residence Trust Management Limited (ARTML).

Mr Wee said: "India is a key market with huge demand but has limited supply of quality serviced residences. With FDI expected to more than double from US$26 billion in 2011 to US$55 billion in 2015 and a resultant increase in international tourist arrivals, there will be an acute shortage of quality accommodation. The gap is estimated at approximately 150,000 rooms. In 2011, Ascott opened its first two properties- Citadines Richmond Bangalore (http://www.citadines.com/india/bangalore/richmond_bangalore.html) and Somerset Greenways Chennai (http://www.somerset.com/india/chennai/somerset_greenways.html) with a total of 283 units in India. Five more properties with over 1,100 units are scheduled to open in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad over the next 3 – 4 years. We target to grow from our current over 1,400 apartment units to 4,000 apartment units in India by 2015."

"Our strategy for India is to expand in high growth cities with strong demand for international-class serviced residences. We are also looking at extending our footprint to other cities across India like Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune"

Mr Vincent Wee has over 18 years of experience in the real estate industry. Prior to joining ARTML in July 2011, he was with Australand Property Group, the Australian Stock Exchange listed subsidiary of CapitaLand where he held various senior executive positions including General Manager, Risk, Acquisitions and Commercial Operations. He was in charge of growing Australand's business with new acquisitions, managing multiple joint venture partners' relationships for residential projects across Australia as well as mitigating the residential division's business risks. Mr Wee holds a Master of Business Administration from Cranfield school of Management, UK and a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University, Australia.

Ascott has also announced the appointment of Mr Rohan Sable as General Manager of the 187-unit Somerset Greenways in Chennai, Ascott's first Somerset brand of serviced residence in India.

Mr Rohan Sable joins Somerset Greenways Chennai with over 13 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to his current role, he was General Manager of Hotel Royal Orchid, Bangalore where during his three-year tenure, he spearheaded many initiatives to improve services and standards. He was named 'General Manager of the Year' award in 2010 by the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India. Mr Sable has also managed various properties in Chennai and Pondicherry. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Hospitality Management from the University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom and a Diploma in Hospitality Management from the Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad.

About The Ascott Limited

The Ascott Limited is the world's largest international serviced residence owner-operator with about 22,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region, as well as over 8,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 30,000 units.

The company operates three brands – Ascott (http://www.the-ascott.com/index.html), Citadines (http://www.citadines.com/) and Somerset (http://www.somerset.com/). Its portfolio spans over 70 cities across more than 20 countries, 15 of which are new cities in Ascott's portfolio where its serviced residences are being developed.

Ascott, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, is headquartered in Singapore. It pioneered Asia Pacific's first international-class serviced residence in 1984. In 2006, it established the world's first Pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust, Ascott Residence Trust. Today, the company boasts a 28-year industry track record and award-winning serviced residence brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.

Ascott's achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include DestinAsian Readers' Choice Awards 2012 'Best Serviced Residence in Asia Pacific', Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2011 'Best Serviced Residence Brand' and 'Best Serviced Residence in Asia-Pacific', Business Traveller UK Awards 2011 'Best Serviced Apartment Company', TTG Travel Awards 2011 'Best Serviced Residence Operator' and TTG China Travel Awards 2011 'Best Serviced Residence Operator in China'.

About CapitaLand Group

CapitaLand is one of Asia's largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, the multi-local company's core businesses in real estate, hospitality and real estate financial services are focused in growth cities in Asia Pacific and Europe.

The company's real estate and hospitality portfolio, which includes homes, offices, shopping malls, serviced residences and mixed developments, spans more than 110 cities in over 20 countries. CapitaLand also leverages on its significant asset base, real estate domain knowledge, financial skills and extensive market network to develop real estate financial products and services in Singapore and the region.

The listed entities of the CapitaLand Group include Australand, CapitaMalls Asia, CapitaMall Trust, CapitaCommercial Trust, Ascott Residence Trust, CapitaRetail China Trust, CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust and Quill Capita Trust.