CapitaLand's wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited, has secured contracts to manage five more properties with 1,000 apartment units in Yinchuan, Changsha, Shenyang and Xi'an.

Ascott said that with these latest contracts, it has now passed its target of having 12,000 apartment units in China.

The 200-unit Citadines Xingqing Yinchuan, 150-unit Somerset Xingqing Yinchuan and 164-unit Somerset Riverside Changsha mark Ascott's entry into the high-growth Chinese cities of Yinchuan and Changsha. Ascott is the first international serviced residence owner-operator to enter these cities.

All three properties are slated to open in 2018.

Ascott also plans to open its second property in Shenyang - the 330-unit Somerset Olympic Centre

Shenyang in 2015, and Ascott's fifth property in Xi'an - the 156-unit Somerset Xindicheng Xi'an in 2016.

Said Ascott's chief executive officer Lee Chee Koon: "China is Ascott's fastest growing market.

"Since bringing Ascott from our home base in Singapore to China in 1998, we have grown to become China's largest international serviced residence owner-operator with 69 properties across 23 cities. This year alone, we have added some 2,600 apartment units in China.

Having crossed our target of 12,000 apartment units ahead of 2015, we are now aiming at 20,000 units in China by 2020. This is in line with our global target of 80,000 apartment units by 2020."