Ascott opens serviced residence in Japan

CAPITALAND'S wholly-owned lodging business unit, The Ascott, has opened a serviced residence in Osaka, Japan.

The new property, Citadines Namba Osaka, offers 313 units with varied apartment types. It sits in Osaka's popular entertainment and shipping district, and is surrounded by commercial buildings, Ascott said in a media statement on Monday.

It houses studio apartment, studio executive apartments with fully equipped kitchens, as well as one- and two-bedroom units, catering to guests on both short and long stays.

Ascott is operating the serviced residence through a master lease agreement with Toshin Development Company, a subsidiary of Asian department store business Takashimaya Group.

In 2021, Ascott will also open lyf Tenjin Fukuoka, the first co-living property in Japan under its "lyf" brand, which caters to millennials and the "millennial-minded", said Tan Lai Seng, Ascott's regional manager for Japan and Korea.

The nine-storey lyf Funan Singapore, which opened in September last year, was Ascott's first co-living property.

"We will continue to pursue growth through management contracts, leases, investments and strategic alliances with market leaders in gateway cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Yokohama," said Mr Tan.

Besides Citadines Namba Osaka, Ascott operates seven other serviced residences in Japan. The company has a Japan portfolio of over 5,000 units across more than 30 serviced residences, hotels and rental housing properties in nine cities.

"Our properties have been performing well at an occupancy rate of 80 per cent to 90 per cent. Upcoming major events such as the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and Osaka-Kansai World Expo are expected to boost demand for our lodging properties, including Citadines Namba Osaka," said Mr Tan.

Shares of CapitaLand were down S$0.02 or 0.5 per cent to S$3.91 as at 3.28pm.

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