S$1bn The Haven Bintan integrated hospitality project eyes year-end launch

BINTAN (June 27): The Haven Sdn Bhd aims to launch its S$1 billion integrated hospitality project here in Indonesia by year-end, said its CEO Peter Chan.

The Haven Bintan will comprise eight 26-storey towers of serviced condominiums and ‘condotels’ – units leased back to the company in exchange for rental returns – and a 300-key hotel and a convention centre that can accommodate 800 to 1,000 guests.

“It depends on how fast we can get the right party (hotel operator). There are also a lot of details to look at, like design, building materials, contractors and financing,” he told theedgeproperty.com in an interview.

He said the company was in talks with a few established five-star operators and has not firmed any agreements yet, but is looking at bringing in international hotel operators new to Bintan.

“What will distinguish us is good management and the person [offering the services]. We want to know who is running it at that time. You need a good brand for people to have confidence and but if you have a good brand withoutgood management it can kill you too,” he said.

Currently, five-star hotels in Bintan include the Alila, Banyan Tree, and Club Med.

According to Chan, The Haven Bintan will cater for families as he perceived a gap in the market for this category of holidaymakers here.

The project is designed to have condotels and serviced condos have access to the hotel’s facilities – which Chan says will be typical features such as pools – but hotel guests and the public will not be able to enter the condotels and serviced condos.

There will be 1,440 studio and one-bedroom, two-bathroom units of condotels and serviced condos across eight towers.

The studios will have a built-up of 500 sq ft and are priced from S$275,000 while the larger typical units will have built-ups of 1,000 sq ft and priced at an average of S$500,000 each.

However, as the units are modular, buyers will have the option of buying and combining several units to form one bigger unit, he said.

The units will be fully furnished with “five-star brand” furniture and appliances such as solid furniture and international brands such as Sony, he added.

However, Chan said the company is currently firming up prices of unfurnished units as well.

The proportion of condotels and serviced apartments are tentatively fixed at 50:50, although that may change depending on market demand, he said.

The condotels will offer the following rates under its three-year guaranteed returns rental scheme – 4% returns per annum in US dollars, 5% returns in Singapore dollars, and 10% returns in Indonesian rupiah.

“Different currencies have different ratings. Generally - this is not my view - but the currency risk is a factor. If you tied it to the Swiss Franc you may get half a percent [in returns] because it is so stable. Generally there is a correlation," he explained.

The Haven Bintan will come up on 60 acres along the northern shore of the Indonesian resort island Bintan, a fairly popular getaway for Singaporeans due to its proximity to the island republic – 50 minutes away by high-speed ferry.

Chan said the group had agreed to acquire the land from a unit of Gallant Venture Ltd, an arm of the Salim Group, in 2012.

However, he declined to reveal the specific price paid for the land, only saying that it was “tens of millions of Singapore dollars”.

The sea-fronting parcel offers pristine waters, unimpeded views of the South China Sea and is shielded by mountains on the east that protect the site from tsunamis, said Chan