Business & Money | Thursday 12 February, 2015 3:24 pm |

CapitaLand's wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has secured a contract to manage its first serviced residence in Turkey, Somerset Maslak Istanbul. Ascott's entry intoTurkey will expand the footprint of the world's largest international serviced residence owner-operator to 90 cities across 25 countries.

Slated to open in 2016, the 159-unit Somerset Maslak Istanbul has a prime location in one of Istanbul's main business & leisure districts. It will be part of an integrated development, Maslak 1453, which comprises a 1,453-metre long shopping promenade and 24 towers of commercial, residential, dining and recreational facilities. Ascott, which pioneered luxury branded serviced residence with the opening of its first property inSingapore in 1984, has been awarded the management contract for Somerset Maslak Istanbul by real estate company Maslak Konaklam, an affiliate of the Saudi-based Abduljawad Group of Companies.

Mr Lee Chee Koon, Ascott's Chief Executive Officer said: "Turkey is an attractive market for foreign investors and we see significant growth opportunities for international branded serviced residences. The country is amongst the world's top 20 largest economies. It has a strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Middle East and Asia, a large domestic market and stable policy environment. As the financial hub of the country,Istanbul is a natural choice for multinational corporations setting up headquarters in Turkey. Tourism is also a significant contributor to the country's GDP. Visitor numbers have been seeing double-digit growth in the past three years and tourism revenue has been increasing steadily."

Mr Lee added: "Ascott is delighted to partner with Abduljawad Group, one of the largest conglomerates inTurkey with an extensive portfolio of properties in various parts of the world. Through this partnership, we will bring our award-winning Somerset brand of serviced residences to Turkey. In 2014, Ascott added eight new cities to our global portfolio. We entered Greater Sydney in Australia; Taiyuan, Yinchuan and Changsha inChina; Bali in Indonesia; Vientiane in Laos; Yangon in Myanmar and Busan in South Korea. We expect strong demand from expatriates and business travellers for our first serviced residence in Turkey and will continue to bring Ascott's signature hospitality to more places around the world."

Mr Ehsan Abduljawad, Chairman of Abduljawad Group, said: "We are extremely pleased to enter into this management agreement with Ascott, which is internationally renowned for its brands, management and service excellence. We are confident that Somerset Maslak Istanbul's balanced living concept, with its spacious, expertly furnished apartments and personalised services will meet the demand for high quality serviced apartments in Istanbul."