CITY Developments Ltd : C09 0% (CDL) on Thursday (Aug 31) announced that it has acquired a hotel in Osaka, Japan for 8.5 billion yen (S$78.5 million).

The hotel, Bespoke Hotel Shinsaibashi, is a freehold, 256-room property located in Osaka’s Shinsaibashi district, a major shopping area.

It is also a five-minute walk from Midosuji Avenue, which is lined with major international luxury brands and department stores, CDL said.

Thursday’s announcement marks the property developer’s third hotel acquisition of 2023.

It followed the purchase of a property in Myeongdong, Seoul, for 140 billion won (S$143.9 million) in July, and news of the planned acquisition of a Sofitel hotel in Brisbane, Australia for A$177.7 million (S$159.2 million) in March.

“The lifestyle hotel is well-placed to benefit from the positive market recovery momentum amid robust demand from international visitors,” CDL said. “Inbound tourism from the rest of Asia has continued to grow, while the weaker yen has sparked a rebound in US and European tourists, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.”

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It also cited China’s recent lifting of restrictions on group tours to Japan as “another positive boost” for the country’s hotel sector.

CDL, which marks its 60th anniversary in September, posted a 12.4 per cent rise in revenue from its hotel operations segment to S$672.9 million for the first half ended Jun 30, 2023.

The property developer also reported a 94.1 per cent drop in net profit to S$66.5 million in H1 2023, from S$1.1 billion previously.

Shares of CDL ended 0.6 per cent or S$0.04 lower at S$6.68 on Thursday.