Saigontourist to buy hotels overseas

      Leading tourism company Saigontourist says it will buy five hotels overseas, taking advantage of falling property prices amid the global slowdown.
General Director Nguyen Huu Tho said he expected a deal to buy a hotel in the US would be finalized by the end of this year. The 252-room hotel is located in Fisherman’s Wharf, a popular tourist destination in San Francisco, he said.
Saigontourist would also purchase four other hotels in Tokyo, Berlin, Hong Kong and Moscow, Tho said, noting that the company only aims at hotels with more than 200 rooms located in city centers.
“The expansion will help develop Saigontourist into an international name,” Tho said.
“It is now a very good time for property buyers as prices have dropped. That’s why we want to seize this chance.”
Tho said the San Francisco hotel was first offered at US$55 million but that the price had been lowered to $44 million after several rounds of negotiations.
Saigontourist posted a turnover of nearly VND7.5 trillion ($421 million) last year, a 14.4 percent increase yearon-year. It plans to increase this to $1 billion by 2015.