The first is the 14-unit Samui Beach Residence, a part of the company's Four Seasons Hotel on Koh Samui. The hotel and residences cost Bt1 billion. The company has also set aside another Bt3.5 billion to develop a high-end hotel and condominium project in Bangkok, scheduled to open late in 2009.

"The Minor Group is going into the property sector and we are aiming for the high-end," said Minor International's chief financial officer, Pratana Manomaiphiboon.

One unit, worth Bt100 million, has already been sold at the Samui Beach Residence. The Bangkok condominium project, once more located next to the company's Four Seasons Bangkok Hotel, has yet to be named, but it will also target high-end buyers.

The six-star Four Seasons Bangkok Hotel will have 220 rooms, while the condominium will offer 74 units with a starting price of Bt25 million.

Last year, revenues from the property business accounted for only 1 per cent, or Bt97 million, of Minor International's total revenues of Bt12 billion. Of its 2006 consolidated performance, food service earned the biggest proportion of revenues, with Bt6.4 billion or 52 per cent, followed by the company's hotel business, which generated Bt4.8 billion or 39 per cent. The rest was from retail properties, the spa business and entertainment.

Apart from the expansion of its property interests, Pratana said the group's core food and hotel businesses will both grow this year.

The group will open 70 to 80 new outlets per year for its major brands The Pizza Company, Swensen's and Sizzler in Thailand, China, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It expects franchise operations to grow from 15 per cent of total outlets to 40 per cent.

"Of the 70 to 80 new outlets, 40 per cent will be overseas and 60 per cent in Thailand," Pratana said.

The company's hotel and residence business is expected to grow by 500 rooms per year, including the company's own hotels and those it manages under its Anantara brand.

Last year, Minor International opened three properties under different brands in the Maldives - Bodu Huraa, Anantara and Naladhu. It also opened two hotels in Thailand - the Four Seasons Tented Camp and the Four Seasons Samui.

It also signed management deals for five hotels, the Anantara Seminyak Bali in Indonesia, the Anantara Hoi An in Vietnam and three hotels in the United Arab Emirates - the Anantara Jumeirah Lake, the Palm Jumeirah and Tiara Tower. The group also plans to expand its business in China, Sri Lanka and India.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation