Indian Hotels Plans Sale Of Select Us Properties

Indian Hotels Company, which runs the Tata groups hotel chain, is evaluating a proposal to sell some of its American properties. The group has appointed a consultancy firm to review its overseas operations and recommend future structure and strategy.

Company managing director, R K Krishna Kumar said, We have several times reiterated that the company has appointed a consultancy firm to review our overseas operations, particularly in the US and Europe, both in terms of structure and strategy. The study is currently in progress and therefore it is premature for me to comment on whether and why properties outside India will be sold or not sold.

 

The group has several hotels and restaurants in the US, Europe and Asia, including the 700-room Lexington Hotel in New York, the Raga restaurant, a fast food restaurant in New York, Shamiana Foods Incorporated, US, which manufactures and markets Indian fast food, the Canterburry Hotel, the Hampshire Hotel, Quality Inn Down Town and Ramada Inn in Washington, and the 415-room Executive Plaza in Chicago.

The group is also planning to acquire premium properties in southeast Asia. Taking advantage of the slide in the southeast Asian currencies, the group is considering bidding for some of the properties in that region in association with the Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson, which holds a 20 per cent stake in Tata Industries.

The groups subsidiary, Covelong Beach Hotels, recently sought RBI approval, to set up a wholly owned unit, Taj Overseas Holding. The proposed arm will invest $3 million in the groups Sri Lankan venture at Bentota, Taj Lanka Resorts, which is in the final stages of completion.