Daily news - 3 Apr

Ascott Group aims for bigger global presence
The Ascott Group, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand, will continue to expand over the coming years. 'We will continue to expand our presence to more cities to further strengthen Ascott's leadership position,' said Chong Kee Hiong, CEO of Ascott Real Estate. Through its three brands - Ascott, Somerset and Citadines - Ascott has 25,000 units in 66 cities. It has 189 properties in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region. Ascott recently launched its first Citadines service apartment in Singapore at Wilkie Road. Ascott bought over the Citadines brand in 2004 and has since extended the brand to the Asia-Pacific. In late February, Ascott opened its first Citadines service apartment project in Japan. Other countries where Ascott will open projects include Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Kazakhstan.

Source: Kim Eng