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Banyan Tree Chasing Growth in China

BANYAN TREE, the resort brand that had its beginnings on Phuket, has completed an investment fund of several hundred million dollars to finance its planned projects in China, sources have told the Reuters news agency.

One industry source told Reuters that BT has raised at least $500 million for its China Development Fund, which will have an office in Shanghai to support five or six hotel projects across China, including a new hotel in Tibet.

Banyan Tree has also begun to hire senior executives in Shanghai to run the China fund, the sources were quoted as saying.

While growth in travel to China is expected to slow, the other side of the economic downturn is expected to restore the appeal of the tourism industry worldwide.

With China's gradual emergence as an economic powerhouse, a return to normal will again maximise the spending power of a large economy and a burgeoning middle-class.

Laguna Phuket, the large island resort sanctuary where Banyan Tree had its beginnings, retains close connections with the international brand, now based in Singapore, that uses a large island tree as its logo.

On Phuket, Banyan Tree has been a constant innovator, pioneering resort villas as an upmarket accommodation alternative and making the connection between property investment and resort revenue.

BT now has three hotels in China, including one on the tropical resort island of Hainan, often dubbed China's Phuket.

The sources who spoke to Reuters declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Laguna Phuket was among the first groups to identify the long-term impact of the global financial setback, putting on hold last year its plans for a new resort on Phuket and expansion to Vietnam through a large resort project at Hue.

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