Ascott to manage 1,600 units in the Philippines in tie-up with developer Cebu Landmasters

THE Ascott Limited has entered into a strategic alliance with a top Philippine real estate developer to manage 1,600 units in the country by 2022, the serviced residence owner-operator company said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Thursday.

Ascott, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, will work with Cebu Landmasters Inc (CLI) under the alliance to seek properties for CLI to develop into serviced residences, which will then be managed by Ascott.

They have signed management contracts for their first four properties in the districts of Bacolod, Cebu City and Davao City, which will open from 2019 to 2021 and offer more than 800 units in total.

Ascott has been in the Philippines for 18 years, and is on track to achieve its target of 6,000 units there by 2020, said Daniel Wee, Ascott's country general manager for the Philippines.

Ascott's chief executive officer Kevin Goh said that Ascott is confident of exceeding 80,000 units in 2018 and expanding to 160,000 units worldwide by 2023.

CLI chief executive Jose Soberano III said: "The booming tourism sector and growing investments in the country will create huge opportunities for the accommodation industry.

"Ascott's strong management expertise in the hospitality business is a good complement to our reputable track record and deep knowledge of the real estate markets in various cities of the Philippines."