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erukh Enterprises, a major Indonesian investment company in the mining industry, officially began the operation of its first property in Singapore over the weekend, one of the company’s important steps in its expansion program outside of the mining sector.

The company’s president director, Rudy Meruck, said in Singapore on Sunday that the property unit, which comprises a hotel and office building, was recently acquired from Singapore-based leading property company Royal Brothers Group for S$218 million (about Rp 1.05 trillion).

He said the acquisition of the Park Regis hotel and office complex, which is located at New Market Street/23 Merchant Road in Singapore’s main banking and corporate district, was part of the company’s expansion into the property sector.

Last month, Merukh, owners of a number of gold, copper and coal mines in Indonesia, unveiled its plan to acquire a 66.67 percent stake in property company PT Patra Jasa, a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina, which operates seven hotels throughout the country.

Earlier this year, the company, which owns a 20 percent stake in PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (PT NNT), a local unit of US-based mining giant Newmont Mining Corporation, through its subsidiary PT Fukuaku Indah, also revealed its interest in acquiring major stakes in several domestic airlines like Sriwijaya Air and Mandala Airlines.

“We used bank loans and our own cash reserve to acquire 100 percent ownership of the hotel and office complex,” Rudy said in statement.

“We are sure of its commercial value due to its strategic location as well as its consumer-oriented services that meet international standards,” Merukh added.

Meanwhile, the company’s senior managing director of land and property, Karnajaya Karnadi, said that with its hotel, office and entertainment facilities, the newly acquired property in Singapore enabled the company to offer
one-stop business services to customers visiting Singapore for business or leisure.

Park Regis, a four-star business hotel that stands next to a 42,000-square-meter office building, offers 203 standard and executive rooms equipped with facilities such as broadband internet access, 42-inch LCD televisions, interactive TV (IPTV) and cable TV as well as movies on demand.

Other facilities include all day dining offering international cuisine, lounge bar, business center, 25-meter swimming pool, gymnasium, on-site parking and front desk foreign currency exchange services.

Rudy said that 20 percent of the Park Regis staff would be Indonesians as part of his company’s commitment to provide Indonesians with chances to improve their skills in the hospitality industry. (lnd)