Radisson Hotel Group announces plans to expand its portfolio to 200 hotels in South Asia while The Ascott Limited accelerates its expansion into China, Japan and Thailand.

In the first quarter of 2018, Radisson Hotel Group signed Radisson Blu Resort Visakhapatnam, Radisson Panipat City Centre and Radisson Agra Country Inn & Suites. In addition, the group is in the process of opening eight more hotels in India this year.

"One of the new giants of the global economy, India has been a key market for us for many years. We look forward to working with hotel investors, owners, developers and other stakeholders across the country as we accelerate the expansion of our portfolio and introduce exciting brand concepts such as Radisson Collection to India," added Katerina Giannouka, President, Asia Pacific, Radisson Hotel Group.

Radisson says it has 90 hotels operational across the country and should reach 100 by the end of 2018.

CapitaLand, with its The Ascott Limited residences, is forging partnerships with developers in China, Japan and Thailand to manage apartments currently under development as well as future projects of these companies.

In China, Ascott has partnered with Riverside Group to launch two residences (350 units) in Zhejiang and Chongqing. In Japan, Ascott has entered into cooperation with NTT Urban Development Corporation and is currently working on two projects in Fukuoka and Yokohama.

In Thailand, Ananda Development has partnered with Ascott to offer four properties as part of the collaboration: Somerset Rama 9 Bangkok, Ascott Embassy Sathorn Bangkok, Ascott Thonglor Bangkok and another property in Sukhumvit 8, adding 1,500 apartments in Bangkok between 2020 and 2021.

Kevin Goh, Ascott’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Forming strategic cooperation with well-established developers is one of Ascott’s key strategies for growth. From Singapore to Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan and the Middle East, the alliances we have forged allow us to gain access to a variety of large-scale, quality projects to fast-track Ascott’s expansion and broaden our reach to even more gateway cities. Having some of the biggest industry players choose to partner with us speaks volumes for Ascott’s reputation and expertise in managing award-winning serviced residences globally for over 30 years.”na remains our top source market globally with the Chinese constitutin

In addition to the 1,607 units that have recently expanded its portfolio, Ascott is adding management and lease agreements for 14 other properties with approximately 3,400 apartment units in 10 cities in China, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.

Kevin Goh adeed: "Chig almost a quarter of our customers and growing. Our latest expansion with eight new contracts across seven cities in China will further boost Ascott’s dominance in the market.