Taj Group to focus on key cities in the country, GCC, SE Asia for expansion

Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), which runs Taj Group of hotels, today said it will focus on key cities in the country, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations and the South East Asian countries to fuel growth.

“We are looking at increasing presence in key cities in the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Goa, Bengaluru and Hyderabad that are key to any company’s growth. However, we will also look at strategic opportunities in other places like Kerala, north east, which can generate value for the company,” company’s managing director and chief executive Rakesh Sarna told reporters here.

He said the hospitality major will look at expansion through management contracts. “We are planning to move forward by being asset light and very opportunistic while increasing our footprint,” he said.

Talking about the expansion in the overseas market, Sarna said, IHCL’s focus will be the GCC and the South East Asian countries, including Thailand, Singapore Vietnam and Cambodia.

Company’s plans to increase its footprint overseas, however, does not include any financial exposure, he added. The company yesterday announced the plan to sell its Taj Boston hotel for a base price of USD 125 million (about Rs 836.09 crore).

It had also exited from three Gateway hotels in Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Jaisalmer and Jodhpur (in Rajasthan) during 2015-16, as they were no longer of strategic importance to the business.

IHCL yesterday reported a standalone net profit of Rs 88.14 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31. It recorded a net loss of Rs 119.15 crore for the corresponding quarter a year ago, according to a BSE filing.