SINGAPORE: CapitaLand’s wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has clinched contracts to manage 14 properties with over 2,000 units across eight countries – China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
Three of the 14 new properties are under its coliving ‘lyf’ brand, strategically located in the vibrant cities of Fukuoka in Japan, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Shanghai in China. Under a partnership with Japanese real estate company, NTT Urban Development Corporation – a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Ascott will manage lyf Fukuoka as well as jointly explore serviced residence opportunities in Japan.
The 131-unit lyf property, nestled within Fukuoka’s major retail and recreational centre, is targeted to open in 2020. Meanwhile, the 160-unit lyf Hongqiao Shanghai, strategically located in the Central Business District of Hongqiao, is set to open in 2022. lyf Raja Chulan Kuala Lumpur, which resides within Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle, the Malaysian capital city’s commercial, shopping and entertainment hub, is scheduled to open in 2020.
Ascott’s latest lyf properties in Fukuoka, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai are set to enjoy a ready catchment of corporate and leisure travelers given their prime locations in the cities’ major commercial and recreational hubs and proximity to tech unicorn companies.
With these three new additions, Ascott has eight lyf properties with over 1,600 units under development in Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. Ascott is also ramping up for the opening of its first lyf property, lyf Funan Singapore, in the heart of the city-state’s Civic & Cultural District, in the fourth quarter this year.
Kevin Goh, Ascott’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Demand for our lyf-branded coliving properties is gaining ground. We are bringing lyf to Fukuoka, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai as the buzzing start-up ecosystems in these cities have given rise to a popular culture of living and cocreating as a community among the millennials. Ascott’s lyf properties, with their flexible communal spaces and social programmes, will cater to the lifestyle aspirations of creative professionals, technopreneurs, trendsetters and millennial travellers who seek collaborative and networking opportunities in the community.”
“Millennials already account for a quarter of Ascott’s customer base; and with our lyf brand, we can seize opportunities presented by the booming millennial generation, set to become the largest spending travel demographic in the near future. Besides Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines where we will be opening lyf properties, we are also looking to bring lyf to other potential markets including Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom.”
The 14 new properties marked Ascott’s first foray into Changchun, the second largest city in Northeast China, and deepened its presence in Foshan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; Frankfurt, Germany; Fukuoka, Japan; Gurgaon, India; Jakarta and Semarang, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Pattaya, Thailand; and Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia.[the_ad id=”31605″]