Kerry, Shangri-la to expand in Shanghai

Shangri-La Asia Ltd<69> and Kerry Properties Limited<683>, both of which are under billionaire Robert Kuok's Kerry Group, have started the construction of Jing An Kerry Center on Nanjing Road in Shanghai last week.

The project, in which both companies have invested RMB 5 billion in total, includes two luxury hotels, Jing An Shangri-La and Jing An Kerry Center Hotel, covering an area of 46,000 square meters. Jing An Shangri-la will consist of 347 guestrooms, while Jing An Kerry Center Hotel will have 600 guestrooms. The two hotels will share 4,570 square meters of meeting and conference space.

Jing An Kerry Center also comprises of 80,000-square meter Grade A office building, 63,000-square meter shopping center as well as an exhibit center. The project is scheduled to end at 2011. The comprehensive business center will be a new strategy for Kerry to expand on the Chinese mainland. Another Kerry Center is under construction in Tianjin, a costal city in east China.

In November 2007, Shangri-La Asia, Kerry Properties Ltd, Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone Development Co. Ltd<600663> and Changchun Industrial Co. Ltd have jointly established Shanghhai Pudong Kerry City Properties Co. Ltd to ensure the successful construction of the project, with a registered capital of US$500 million.