China's Central Enterprises To Divest Hotels

According to the official website of China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, in 2010 most central state-owned enterprises will start to divest their interest in, or reorganize the ownership of, hotels that are not part of their primary businesses.

According to the general plan, these hotel businesses will be allocated to central enterprises that have hotels as one of their primary businesses. It is expected that this process will be completed in three to five years.

Government statistics reveal there are more than 2,000 hotel companies controlled by central enterprises, and their assets exceed CNY100 billion. Almost every central enterprise has hotel business, including industrial giants such as China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, China Telecommunications Corporation, China National Tobacco Corporation, and Bank of China.

After the completion of the divest and reorganization phase, central enterprises that do not have hotels as their primary business will not allowed to invest in any new commercial hotels without the permission of SASAC.

Central enterprises that have hotels as one of their primary businesses — e.g. OCT Group, COFCO Corporation, and China National Travel Service (HK) can expect to benefit from this initiative, said an official from SASAC.