T

he Sahid Group conglomerate says it will move several of its hotel operators under the aegis of its
publicly-listed subsidary PT Hotel Sahid Jaya International (SHID) as part of a long-proposed consolidation plan.

SHID president director Hariyadi Sukamdani said that the Sahid Group currently operated 14 hotels or hotel-related companies. “We have the plan and talks are ongoing. However, we have no exact date,” Hariyadi said.

The Sahid Group previously announced consolidation plans in 1997, which were postponed after the Asian Financial Crisis prompted a reconsideration of the scheme.

The company, bolstered by the nation’s growing economy and relatively stable political condition,
has decided that it was now appropriate to move forward with the consolidation.

“We hope to complete the consolidation in less than five years. However, we may complete the consolidation process earlier, depending on the security situation after the presidential election in 2014. At this moment, we will grow and maximize our hotel chain’s assets and operational performance,” Hariyadi said.

The consolidation will likely be executed through a rights issue and is expected to double SHID’s assets, which are estimated at Rp 1.22 trillion (US$135.42 million).

The Sahid Group, also involved in the property business, would also retain condominium hotels (condotels) currently under construction under its management, he said.

The conglomerate, founded in early 1950s by Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono, is expected to complete 600-room condotels in Yogyakarta, Surabaya, East Java; and Bandung, West Java this year.

The opening of the condotel in Yogyakarta will be delayed from February to March 14. “We used to think we would build only a condotel and a small mall. However, we see a big potential in the mall business in Yogyakarta. Therefore, we decided to build a bigger mall and need more time for completion,” Hariyadi said.

The Rp 230 billion condotel and Rp 200 billion mall in Yogyakarta will be located in the Babarsari district.

Meanwhile, Sahid Group’s condotel in Surabaya is budgeted at Rp 230 billion and expected to be finished in the second half of the year.

“We still don’t know yet how much we will need for the condotel construction in Bandung because we are still working on the designs. We will try to complete construction this year,” Hariyadi said.

The group was also seeking other places to develop condotels and malls, Hariyadi said.

“We also have an option to build in Lampung. We see high demand for mall development there,” Hariyadi said.

The Sahid Group was boosting its investment in hotel sand malls to meet demand for facilities supporting the tourism industry in Indonesia, Hariyadi said. (rcf)