Aust hospitality firm Donaco looking for project site here
AUSTRALIA-BASED Donaco International plans to develop a four-star hotel at a prime tourist destination in Thailand at a cost of US$50 million to $100 million (Bt1.7 billion to Bt3.4 billion).
“We will start the project in Thailand within two years with the Thai partner. For the location, we are looking for an attraction city, like Phuket, Samui, Chiang Mai or Bangkok,” said Lim Keong Yew, managing director and chief executive officer.
“Donaco International is a public company listed on Australia’s stock exchange. It was founded by me and Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong. We operate leisure and entertainment businesses across the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
In Cambodia, Donaco’s largest business is the Star Vegas Resort and Club, a successful entertainment and hotel complex in Poipet, which the company acquired for $360 million.
It is strategically located near Siem Reap, one of Cambodia’s biggest attractions.
“With the Asean Economic Community, we believe Poipet can become a global destination similar to Macau and Singapore.
“In the past year, the hotel generated Bt3.1 billion from its accommodations and entertainment, and 90 per cent of the guests were Thai. There are about 5,000 guests per day,” he said.
Donaco is a pioneer hospitality operator in Vietnam and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region.
It owns the Aristo Inter-national Hotel, a five-star resort and entertainment complex with 400 guest rooms situated on magnificent landscape in northern Vietnam with revenue of Bt530 million last year.
Donaco owns 95 per cent of this joint venture with the government of Vietnam. Most of its guests are from China.
