DoubleDragon to bring Jinjiang Inn to Boracay
DOUBLEDRAGON PROPERTIES Corp. hopes to cash in on the growing number of tourist arrivals from China, as the real estate developer charts the expansion of its hotel business.
DoubleDragon Chairman Edgar “Injap” Sia II told reporters last Friday it will start the development of two hotels under the Jinjiang Inn brand in Boracay and Cagayan de Oro in the next two months.
The stand-alone hotel in Boracay will have more than 100 rooms and is located “near” the beachfront in Station 2.
The expansion is part of DoubleDragon’s plan to assemble 5,000 hotel rooms, 2,000 rooms of which will be under Jinjiang Inn and another 3,000 rooms under Hotel 101 by 2020.
Last year, Mr. Sia’s Injap Investments, Inc. divested its 70% stake in Hotel of Asia, Inc. and consolidated it at the DoubleDragon level. Chan C Bros Holdings, Inc. of the Oishi Group and Staniel Realty Development Corp. retained their 15% interest each in HOA.
HOA currently has 866 operating hotel rooms from two Jinjiang Inns in Ortigas and Makati, Hotel 101 in the Manila Bay area, and Injap Tower Hotel in Iloilo City. HOA’s subsidiary holds the master franchise for Chinese hotel brand JinJiang Inn in the Philippines.
Mr. Sia noted the strong tourist arrivals from China in May when visitor count surged 57.29% to 73,649 compared to the prior year.
“We also felt that uptick. Hopefully, it will be good for our brand,” Mr. Sia said.
DoubleDragon Co-Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said “balancing” the country’s relationship with China is one of the “biggest challenges” for the government.
“China is now one of the major superpowers. It’s a delicate balancing act. You cannot ignore them. There are some financial benefits. Hopefully our administration can do a nice balancing act for our economic growth,” Mr. Tan Caktiong said in the same event.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte has sought warmer ties with Beijing which had deteriorated under predecessor Benigno S. C. Aquino III over a territorial dispute.
“Businessmen are still very bullish. [ We’re] forecasting a nice growth for the Philippine economy. At the same time, we’re at the sweet spot for our demographics,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sia said DoubleDragon is on track to build one million square meters of leasable space, mainly through CityMalls, by 2020, allowing the company to generate a net income of P4.8 billion by that period.
The company has secured almost 60 sites for its community mall chain, and aims to lock in more landbank within the next 12 months.
Eleven provincial CityMalls are also expected to launch the first batch of cinemas operated by media giant ABS-CBN Corp. by the end of the month.
In January, CityMall and ABSCBN signed an agreement to partner in the roll out of cinemas in various provincial areas. By 2020, the 100 CityMalls will be home to 200 screens, making it the second largest cinema operator in the country.
In the first quarter, DoubleDragon posted a net income of P165.67 million, a 279% year-onyear increase from the P43.66 million it booked in the same period in 2016.
DoubleDragon is a joint venture between Injap Investments and Honeystars Holdings Corp. of Mr. Tan Caktiong, chairman and founder of Jollibee Foods Corp.