Hotel Properties (HPL)

Hotel Properties (HPL): 68 Holdings and concert parties now controls 46.5% of HPL’s share capital, bringing it one step closer to its objective of acquiring a majority stake in HPL. HPL is asset-rich; it owns and manages 28 hotels and resorts spread across 13 countries and operated under brands such as Four Seasons and Concorde. In Singapore, the group’s three hotels along Orchard Road include the 422-room Hilton Singapore, the 254-room Four Seasons and Concorde Singapore. Along with adjoining assets such as Forum the Shopping Mall and HPL House, HPL’s properties and hotels bounded by Cuscaden Road and Orchard Road seem ripe for redevelopment, which DMG thinks will unlock the group's real estate value. According to DMG, HPL's hotels are still recorded at historical cost that dates back to 1996. House estimates HPL's RNAV at $4.85/share. In addition, its resort hotels in Maldives and Bali are currently doing very well, buoyed by higher chinese tourist arrivals and will continue to underpin revenue going forward. Adding flavour to the situation, the Fu family which owns a 29% block in HPL, has been silent on its intentions amid all the corporate developments at HPL. The family is not part of the 68 Holdings consortium, and it could have other plans up their sleeves, or could go along with any future development plans that Ong Beng Seng must have promised Wheelock in bringing it in as a strategic partner.