June 03, 2009 (asinfo)
Today in Smolny palace, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between St. Petersburg (Russia) and Aplerson Holding Ltd (Company).
The Company confirms its intention to make investments within the framework of the City Program of hotel infrastructure development, which has the status of a strategic investment project.
The Memorandum was signed by Governor Valentina Matvienko and Roland Burger, a member of the investor’s Board of Directors. According to the governor, the document is signed on the eve of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. “As experience shows, the projects signed during the Forum are being successfully implemented,” she said, recalling the experience of the Nissan automobile plant.
The Governor also reported on the city’s plans in 2010 to fully open the Sea Passenger Terminal on Vasilyevsky Island, which will open up additional opportunities for receiving foreign tourists. According to V. Matvienko, hotel real estate in the city, which is the center of attraction of guests from around the world, is in high demand: “Now we have 25 thousand hotel beds. To reach the European level, we will need to create 10 thousand more places in the next few years”.
Roland Burger considers promising the development of hotel business in St. Petersburg, which, in his words, is a “precious stone” on the map of Russia and deserves hotel facilities of the same class as in London, Paris and Rome.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Aplerson Holding Ltd.” Konstantin Sokolov said that the company is considering several objects for possible investments in order to create class 5 “star” hotels in the city center. The top manager refused to inform about specific plans but only noted that it was not a question of creating a chain of hotels. As explained by Maxim Sokolov, Chairman of the Committee for Investments and Strategic Projects, it may be a question of purchasing existing buildings in the city center, as well as new construction.
According to data provided by City investment Committee, Aplerson Holding is a division of IFG Basis, which invests in Eastern Europe, Russia, China and Middle East countries and has long-term relationships with global hotel operators, including Hilton, Marriott, Ritz, FourSeasons and Peninsula. Five-star hotel projects are being implemented in Kazan, Anapa and Abrau-Durso. IFG Basis is a Cyprus foundation associated with several European banks. According to K. Sokolov, the company’s central office is in London.
Roland Burger is the Vice President of IFG Basis and Treasurer of Julius Baer & Co. – the eighth largest Swiss bank in terms of capital, which was founded in 1890 and is a shareholder in a number of companies operating in Russia, in particular, Sulzer – partner of Transneft.
Valentina Matvienko expressed satisfaction with the fact that the investor intends to implement his projects in the city despite the crisis. However, according to Konstantin Sokolov, IFG Basis, which has been working in Russia since 2006, has long considered the possibility of developing an elite hotel project in St. Petersburg, but the economic conditions satisfying the investor have developed only during the crisis.
Experts explain the interest of large investors to invest in the development of hotels in the city center with decreasing real estate prices.