HK hotel heir bets on Middle East with billion-dollar hotel plan
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Regal Hotels vice-chairman and managing director Poman Lo joined Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee’s trip to the Middle East in early 2023 with a group of business executives.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Hong Kong – Hailing from one of Hong Kong’s most influential families, Ms Poman Lo has an ambitious plan for the family’s hotel business – venturing into a region relatively untouched by Hong Kong developers with dozens of green hotels.
Regal Hotels International Holdings is partnering Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment to build about 100 hotels around the world worth US$5 billion (S$6.6 billion), with an emphasis on the Middle East. It will have about 30 hotels in Saudi Arabia, according to an interview with Ms Lo, vice-chairman and managing director at Regal.
The move underscores the growing ties between Hong Kong and the Middle East as the financial hub navigates United States-China tensions. Ms Lo joined Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee’s trip to the region in early 2023 with a group of business executives.
“Given the deepening ties and collaborations with Saudi (Arabia) and China, I think Hong Kong can play that super connector role,” Ms Lo said, adding that foreign companies tend to want to work with Hong Kong companies due to the city’s legal infrastructure.
With Western investors cutting capital, “a lot of Chinese funds as well as companies are going to Saudi (Arabia) to seek investments, so there’s a lot of business travel”, she said.
This provides opportunities for Regal, which plans to build the hotels under its iclub brand, targeting entrepreneurs.
Regal plans to finish the construction by 2035, without disclosing how much it will invest. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment will help secure funds for the projects, while Regal is also open to accepting capital from investors in mainland China and Hong Kong. Japan, South-east Asia and China are among other regions that Regal prioritises.
The new hotels will seek to be carbon-neutral, a strategy Ms Lo says makes business sense. Big companies would prefer that their staff stay at green accommodation, while funds increasingly invest only in such property, Ms Lo said.
Regal has 19 hotels, with the majority in Hong Kong, according to its website. Ms Lo’s father is Mr Lo Yuk Sui, the second son of the late real estate tycoon Lo Ying Shek.
In November, China and Saudi Arabia signed a local currency swap agreement worth US$7 billion. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the country in 2022 for a summit, where the two countries signed in-principle agreements valued at US$50 billion.
Strengthening relations with the Middle East could help boost Hong Kong’s economy and inbound investors.
Ms Lo is “still confident” in the city’s tourism. “There has been a drop in international travellers. Hopefully, we can bring them back,” she said. BLOOMBERG
