Mr Gwee Lian Kheng Receives Hotel Legends Hall of Fame Award

Mr Gwee Lian Kheng, Group Chief Executive of Singapore-listed UOL Group Limited and Pan Pacific Hotels Group was awarded the Hotel Legends Hall of Fame Award at this year's 11th Australian New Zealand Pacific Hotel Industry Conference (ANZPHIC).

A veteran hotelier and property developer with nearly 40 years' experience, Mr Gwee is the second person to be inducted into ANZPHIC's Hotel Legends Hall of Fame after the inaugural award went to Koos Klein last year.

Beginning his career in the hotel and real estate industry in 1973 with UOL, Mr Gwee rose through the ranks to helm the company in 1987. Under his leadership, UOL has become one of the largest publicly-owned hotel and property companies in Singapore with a market capitalisation of nearly Sin$4 billion and asset base of close to Sin$8 billion. It is also one of the most profitable property companies listed on the Singapore Exchange, reporting S$746 million for the year ended 31 December 2010.

Mr Gwee is credited for growing the hotel portfolio under UOL Group Limited in the 1970s under the then Hotel Plaza Limited (now renamed Pan Pacific Hotels Group) to a global presence of 16 hotels and serviced suites.

Under the Pan Pacific and ParkRoyal brands, Pan Pacific Hotels Group manages a total of 27 hotels with nearly 9,000 rooms in Asia, Australia and North America.

The group was able to establish its foothold in Australia in the 1990s when Mr Gwee's foresight and business acumen led it to acquire five hotels in Australia when most investors were averse to the market.

A Singapore citizen, Mr Gwee graduated with an Accountancy honours degree at the then University of Singapore. He is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK) as well as Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Singapore). He was also a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries.

Mr Gwee was a past Committee Member of the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS), Joint Working Committee on the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), a Board Member of Singapore Hotels Association, a Council Member of the Singapore Society of Accountants (now known as Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore) as well as Governor of Saint Andrews School Board of Directors. He was conferred the Public Service Medal (PBM) in 1994 and Public Service Star (BBM) in 2002 by the Singapore President for his community service over the last 29 years with the Singapore Children's Society.

At 70 years of age, Mr Gwee has not lost any of his passion for the hotel and property business. Four decades into the business, he continues to work hard and drive the conglomerate with the same integrity, discipline and entrepreneurial flair.

Pan Pacific Hotels Group is currently aggressively expanding its hotel portfolio in the key markets of Australia, New Zealand, Greater China, Asia and North America. In Oceania, its growth strategy includes extending the Pan Pacific portfolio to hotels and resorts in Melbourne, Gold Coast and Queensland and Auckland in New Zealand and the ParkRoyal portfolio in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Cairns, Gold Coast and other parts of Queensland.

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