SINGAPORE - CapitaLand's wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott, has made its first foray into the popular destinations of Cebu in the Philippines and Pattaya in Thailand.

It has secured five new contracts to manage 875 apartment units in these locations.

Ascott has signed 14 management contracts in South-east Asia this year, adding more than 2,700 serviced residence units in the region. That is more than triple the number of units added in the same region for the whole of 2014.

Mr Lee Chee Koon, Ascott's chief executive, said: "We have ramped up our expansion in South-east Asia as we see strong growth potential in the long-term. With more than 13,000 apartment units in 73 properties across eight countries in South-east Asia, over 30 per cent of Ascott's global footprint is now concentrated in this fast-growing region."

He added: "South-east Asia is shaping up to be one of the most vibrant and attractive markets for foreign investors - with a young population driving domestic demand, growing export figures and various economic policies in place to attract foreign capital. The upcoming Asean Economic Community will not only boost economic integration in the region, it will also transform South-east Asia into an economic powerhouse with a population of more than 600 million."

He said Ascott has been expanding beyond the capital cities to other areas with significant growth opportunities for serviced residences.

For instance, Cebu is the second major business capital in the Philippines after Manila while Pattaya is a major city in Thailand's eastern seaboard region with many multinational companies. Both are also popular tourist destinations.

"his year, we have also secured properties in Jakarta and Yogyakarta in Indonesia; Kota Kinabalu, Nusajaya and Miri in Malaysia; Bangkok and Sri Racha in Thailand as well as Binh Duong province and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam."

He said Ascott is also present in the South-east Asian cities of Yangon, Myanmar and Vientiane, Laos.

"We will continue to make inroads into new cities with strong growth potential and deepen our presence in the world's capital cities to achieve our target of 80,000 units globally by 2020."

The new management contracts in Cebu and Pattaya will strengthen Ascott's position as the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in the Philippines and Thailand.

Ascott has more than 1,600 units in eight serviced residences and 2,800 units across 16 properties respectively in the two countries.