Thailand’s Minor International keen on Asean expansion, with KL on its radar
The listed hospitality operator has also set its sights on opening properties in Jakarta and Manila, says COO Micah Tamthai.
Tan Ai Leng
WITH international travel resuming at a faster pace this year as borders around the world reopen, Thai hospitality operator Minor International is looking to grow its regional footprint, with Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Jakarta on its radar for its near-term expansion plans.
Micah Tamthai, the chief operating officer of Minor Lifestyle and Real Estate, told The Business Times in a recent interview that those are the 3 key cities in South-east Asia where the company’s hotels arm has yet to venture into.
The 50-year-old executive said the company is currently on the lookout for a suitable location in Kuala Lumpur - somewhere in the central business district or the city centre - to build a 4-star or 5-star business hotel with around 200 rooms. He did not give further details about what it wants to do in Manila and Jakarta.
Listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Minor International is one of the largest hospitality, restaurant and lifestyle companies in the Asia-Pacific. The company has 3 core businesses that are operated under subsidiary companies - Minor Hotels, Minor Food and Minor Lifestyle. In all, it has over 530 hotels and resorts, 2,300 restaurants and 470 retail trading points-of-sale in 63 markets around the world.
Tamthai joined Minor International in 2009, after spending a decade in the airline industry working on the restructuring and mergers of bankrupt carriers including US Airways, Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines. In the 13 years since, he spearheaded the group’s hotel portfolio expansion plans via investments, acquisitions and joint ventures.
Although Minor International has the capacity to build, own and operate its own properties, Tamthai said the company is keen to partner with local entities for its expansion plans in South-east Asia.
The Anantara Desaru Coast Resort and Villas development, for instance, is 60 per cent-owned by Minor Hotels, with the remaining stake held by Themed Attractions Resorts and Hotels, the hospitality arm of Khazanah Nasional.
“(The partnership) works well for both parties as we have the expertise to construct and manage, while Khazanah offered support on legalities and other areas,” Tamthai told BT during a visit to the newly-built property.
Anantara Desaru Coast has 90 rooms and 13 luxury villas. There are also 20 units of 3- and 4-bedroom beachfront residences, with 6 of these already sold, including to a buyer from Singapore. These units were completed last year and are priced between RM7.5 million (S$2.35 million) and RM11.4 million.
Tamthai has high hopes for Desaru, with the area seeing tourism activities pick up steam since last year thanks largely to Malaysian residents who headed there for luxury staycations, and as more overseas travellers return. Last year, some of the beachfront residences were rented out at the princely sum of RM20,000 a night and even at that rate, the company saw “good demand” for those units.
“We expect the luxury staycation trend to continue in the future, especially after the new Desaru Coast ferry terminal begins operations later this year and starts its ferry services to Singapore. This will bring in more tourists to Desaru, ” he said.
Apart from the Desaru development, Minor Hotels also manages the Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort in Selangor, which is about a 45-minute drive from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
