1H2013 recorded slightly more than USD1.3 bil in transactions throughout Asia, almost double 1H2012. Strong demand for investment grade hotel assets in Asia's established tourism markets of Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo as well as deals from emerging markets such as Thailand and the Maldives had contributed greatly to the solid growth in sales activity.
According to Jones Lang Lasalle however, the pipeline of open market listings throughout Southeast Asia is limited, even though there has been improving hotel trading performance and investor appetite. Hotel owners are generally reluctant to sell but off-market deals are still expected to continue.
Rising visitor arrivals, robust trading performance and positive market dynamics have been identified by Jones Lang as factors bringing emerging Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar back into the investment spotlight.
Transactions in China, India and Indonesia continue to be muted due to challenging ownership structures, ......