DUBLIN, Ireland — The ancient Ireland of the tourist guidebooks has its share of haunted castles and spooky old ruins. But in the modern Ireland of the post-boom years you are more likely to find ghost housing estates and zombie hotels.
In Ireland, with a population of four and a half million, 300,000 homes are lying empty, according to a recent academic survey. Many of them are in clusters of almost-finished houses, built in fields that were rezoned for development in the madness of the housing boom. While bankrupt developers have left the housing developments unfinished, banks are keeping empty grand hotels open to prevent them from becoming, well, ghost hotels.
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Sunday, March 28, 2010
Chinese group buys Los Angeles Marriot Downtown Hotel
The Shenzhen New World Group Company, a Chinese-owned real estate development firm, has recently bought a 469-room hotel for an approximate price of $60 million, about half of its estimated value way back in 2007.
The Los Angeles Marriott Hotel was under foreclosure when the Chinese firm acquired it. Shenzhen is planning to invest $13 million for the hotel’s upgrades and promises to do improvements on the aging hotel, which caters mostly to business clienteles.
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The Los Angeles Marriott Hotel was under foreclosure when the Chinese firm acquired it. Shenzhen is planning to invest $13 million for the hotel’s upgrades and promises to do improvements on the aging hotel, which caters mostly to business clienteles.
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Financing partner of New South Ocean Development Company 'winding down'
ONE of the financing partners of the New South Ocean Development Company, the troubled hedge fund Plainfield Asset Management, has announced it is winding down and returning money to its investors amid a wave of lawsuits, the New York Post reported yesterday.
Plainfield's assets have reportedly fallen from a high of $5 billion to just over $3 billion. The hedge fund its expected to be left with around $500 million after the investors get their money back.
The New South Ocean Development Company is controlled by a Cayman-based partnership, which is owned 51 per cent by Plainfield's investment vehicle Seaside Heights, giving it majority control, one per cent by RHS Ventures and 48 per cent by one of the latter's affiliates, RHS Holdings.
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Plainfield's assets have reportedly fallen from a high of $5 billion to just over $3 billion. The hedge fund its expected to be left with around $500 million after the investors get their money back.
The New South Ocean Development Company is controlled by a Cayman-based partnership, which is owned 51 per cent by Plainfield's investment vehicle Seaside Heights, giving it majority control, one per cent by RHS Ventures and 48 per cent by one of the latter's affiliates, RHS Holdings.
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Bahamian Tourism predicted to decrease 4% in 2010
The Bahamian travel and tourism industry is projected to contract by 4.1 per cent during 2010, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has projected, but its long-term projections for the sector's 3.4 per cent annualised growth over the next decade have been backed by leading industry figures.
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Yum opens 1st Taco Bell in India
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 27, 2010) In an effort to expand Taco Bell’s international reach, parent Yum! Brand Inc. debuted the quick-service chain's first unit in Bangalore, India, last week.
The store opening is part of Yum’s plan to position the quick-serve Mexican chain as its third international powerhouse brand alongside its KFC and Pizza Hut divisions. The company, which last year opened 1,467 restaurants outside of the United States, including 509 in China and 898 in other foreign markets, has vowed to more than quadruple its multibrand holdings in India by 2015. It currently operates 158 Pizza Hut and 72 KFC restaurants there.
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The store opening is part of Yum’s plan to position the quick-serve Mexican chain as its third international powerhouse brand alongside its KFC and Pizza Hut divisions. The company, which last year opened 1,467 restaurants outside of the United States, including 509 in China and 898 in other foreign markets, has vowed to more than quadruple its multibrand holdings in India by 2015. It currently operates 158 Pizza Hut and 72 KFC restaurants there.
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