China’s breakneck pace of investments and acquisitions in the worldwide hotel industry have already made it a rising star, French newspaper Les Echos reported.
Hotel industry data show Chinese is expected to account for 7.5%, or over US$5.1 billion of the US$67.7 billion, of total global hotel investments of 2015, compared with 1.5% or less than US$1 billion last year. The global share of Chinese investments would increase even more dramatically if significant investments like Fosun Group-Club Med and Anbang Insurance-NY Waldorf Astoria acquisitions are included in the statistics.
Although still in its budding stages, the scale of international Chinese hotel investments are set to grow rapidly thanks to long-term investment strategies and the Chinese government’s relaxation of cross-border capital flow control. The US and the Middle East will still be the top two sources of investments in international hotels in terms of size. But unlike Middle East investors who tend to be limited to high-end hotels, China’s investments will cover a wider range of properties.
However the French hotel industry is still the most important international benchmark. The industry’s turnover is expected to go up from US$2 billion in 2014 to US$3 billion this year, according to the report. (Translation by David)
