Australian property now accounts for about a third of developer Tuan Sing's portfolio after its latest deal to buy up the rest of the upmarket Grand Hotel Group.
Tuan Sing, which already owns 50 per cent of the company, has paid A$126.04 million (S$146.7 million) for the remaining stake.
The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the year, Tuan Sing said in a statement yesterday.
Grand Hotel Group, which owns the Grand Hyatt Melbourne and Hyatt Regency Perth, had a net asset value of A$276.6 million as at July 31.
The occupancy rate at the two hotels was more than 85 per cent last year.
Net property income from the hotels came in at A$23.7 million from January to July, up 2 per cent over the corresponding period last year.
The combined revenue per available room of the two hotels edged up 1 per cent in the same period from last year.
The company has spent more than A$70 million to renovate, upgrade and increase usable space at the two hotels over the past few years, said Mr William Liem, the chief executive of Tuan Sing.
He added that the company is "confident of reaping the benefits from these asset enhancements".
Mr Liem said: "Through a combination of the strategic plans we have in place, we intend to make Grand Hotel Group more efficient and therefore more profitable over time."
Tuan Sing recently posted a 24 per cent decline in net profit for the second quarter ended June 30 to $11.6 million, due to slower progressive recognition of sales at Seletar Park Residence and Sennett Residence and new bookings at Cluny Park Residence.
Tuan Sing also has an industrial services division with tyre distribution and commodities trading activities.
Apart from Australia, Tuan Sing has land in Jiaozhou, Qingdao in China.
This article was first published on September 04, 2014.
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