Japan firm plans 100b yen boost to hotel ventures

[TOKYO] Hulic Co is seeking to invest as much as 100 billion yen (S$1.2 billion) over the next five years in hotels in Japan amid rising inbound tourism in the country.

Hulic, the second-best performer among Japanese real estate firms in the past two years, is looking to acquire properties for hotel development, said Noritaka Takahashi, general manager of the real estate planning department at the Tokyo-based company.

The developer, which spun off from Mizuho Bank, owns buildings that house the bank's branches and may redevelop them in key locations into hotels, he said.