Marco Polo Announces Second Beijing Hotel

The Marco Polo Hotel Group has entered into an agreement for the pre-opening, technical services and long-term management of an international standard full service deluxe hotel to be built by Beijing Huahui Real Estate Development Center in the Chaoyang district in close proximity to Beijing's Olympic Park.

Celebrating the announcement of the Marco Polo Hotel Group's second hotel in Beijing, a signing ceremony held in Beijing today represented the senior management of the Marco Polo Hotel Group and Huahui Real Estate Development Center.

The new Marco Polo hotel will be the focal point of a multi-use office and commercial complex, 600 meters from the entrance to the new Olympic Park, venue of the 2008 Olympic Games. Scheduled to open in 2006, the 18-storey  hotel will provide over 330 rooms and suites, the signature Continental Club Floor, world-class restaurants and entertainment lounges, extensive conference and banquet facilities and a state-of-the art fitness center.

"We are delighted to be operating a second Marco Polo hotel in Beijing, one of the fastest growing and important international markets. We are most pleased to be in partnership with one of China's most well-respected and experienced  real estate companies for the development of this important hotel, perfectly timed to fulfill the requirements of the 2008 Olympic Games," said Mr. Michael Kalyk, President of Marco Polo Hotel Group.

"We are pleased to be working with the professional hoteliers of the Marco Polo Hotel Group, a well established Hong Kong-based hotel management  company with significant experience in the development and operation of quality hotels in the Asia Pacific region. Our working relationship with the Marco Polo Hotel Group assures the success of the hotel," said Mr Sun Yonghua, the General Manager of Beijing Huahui Real Estate Development Center.

Beijing Huahui Real Estate Development Center is a professional real estate development corporation. Since its foundation in 1995, Huahui has been  developing new ideas, new mechanisms and new approaches to accomplish the construction of municipal facilities in the area north of the Asia Games Village. Along with the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Huahui will strive to become the leading developer of residential property in the 21st century.

The Marco Polo Hotel Group is a Hong Kong based hotelier, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Wharf Holdings Ltd. - one of Hong Kong's leading  property investors. Founded in 1986, the Marco Polo Hotel Group is a market leader in the management and operation of outstanding hotel properties offering a hospitality experience that is warm, efficient and distinctly Asian. In the years to come, the Group will develop and operate an additional of five to seven prestigious hotels in prime locations within the Asia-Pacific Region.

The Marco Polo Hotel Group's first mainland property is the lakeside Marco Polo Xiamen, a market leader since opening in 1996. The Marco Polo Beijing, having opened in Xidan of the Xicheng District in 2001, recently won two of Asia's most prestigious interior design awards and has become the model for the Marco Polo Group's continued expansion into China and the other key business centers of the Asia-Pacific region.

With the opening of a new Beijing Hotel, the Marco Polo Hotel Group will have a portfolio of eight properties in Asia including The Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel, The Marco Polo Gateway and The Marco Polo Prince in Hong Kong; The Marco Polo, Xiamen and The Marco Polo, Beijing in China; The Marco Polo, Davao in the Philippines and Omni Saigon Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.