Ascott has continued its expansion in China, with the signing of management contracts for three new properties, including its first in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province.

　　Serviced apartment operator Ascott has continued its expansion in China, with the signing of management contracts for three new properties, including its first in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province.

　　The Singapore-based company has sealed deals that will add 567 apartment units to its Chinese inventory, including the 250-unit Somerset Swan Lake Hefei, which is scheduled to open in 2017, the 150-unit Ascott Nanbin Chongqing and 167-unit Somerset Software Park Xiamen, both of which are expected to launch in 2015.

　　The three new properties add to Ascott’s existing Chinese portfolio of more than 9,000 units across 51 properties.

　　“China is our key market and we are growing rapidly through management contracts, investments and strategic alliances. We are on track to achieve our target of 12,000 apartment units in China by 2015,” said Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s CEO.

　　“Ascott has so far entered six cities in 2013 – Hefei, Nanjing and Wuxi in China, Gurgaon in India, and Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Our global portfolio has expanded to over 32,000 apartment units in 81 cities,” he added.

　　Located between the Hefei Economic Development Zone and Hefei Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Somerset Swan Lake Hefei forms part of the Park Lane Plaza development, which also features a hotel, offices and retail outlets. It will feature a range of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and penthouses.

　　Ascott Nanbin Chongqing will offer a series of studio, one- and two-bedroom units in the centre of the city, overlooking the Yangtze River, while the Somerset Software Park Xiamen is set in the southeast city’s Si Ming district, and offers units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments.

　　All new properties will include gymnasiums, business centres, meeting rooms, lounges and swimming pools, while the Somerset Swan Lake Hefei will also feature a spa.

　　“Besides first tier cities, we are also growing our presence in China’s high growth cities such as Hefei, Chongqing and Xiamen where strong economic growth and foreign investment have generated a large demand for serviced residences,” said Kevin Goh, Ascott’s managing director for North Asia. “We recently acquired a prime property in Hong Kong and this year we have also clinched contracts to manage eight properties adding more than 1,200 apartment units in China.”