Hotel rebranding to cushion slowdown

The rebranding of hotels being managed by the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) is part of a three-pronged strategy to cushion the impact of the current economic slowdown, its chairman Datuk Talib Zulpilip said yesterday.

He said the other measures were cost-cutting and readjusting the projected annual revenues of SEDC's 36 associate and subsidiary companies throughout the state in facing the overall economic situation.

"SEDC's investments in the key industries are still profitable because we took an early precautionary step since the 1997 financial crisis when it affected the country," he told reporters after flagging off the `World Harmony Run 2009' at the Grand Margherita Hotel.

As part of its rebranding exercise, two hotels under SEDC, namely Holiday Inn Kuching and Crowne Plaza Riverside Kuching, have been renamed Grand Margherita Hotel and Riverside Majestic Hotel.

Two other hotels - Damai Beach Resort and Damai Puri Resort in Santubong, which were previously under the international Holiday Inn chain - are now also under the direct management of SEDC, which is also a shareholder of the Grand Mulu Resort at Mulu National Park and the Parkcity hotels in Bintulu and Miri.

As at Dec 31, 2007, SEDC's total group asset was estimated at RM1.1 billion through investments in the tourism and leisure as well as agro-food based sectors besides property development, roads and works, and entrepreneurial development. - BERNAMA

(Text taken from Borneo Post)