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Flagship Project Rio Carnival (Qingdao) to Commence Operation in Phases Starting Next Quarter
Captures Early Opportunities In Tourism Sector & Pushes Forward its Integrated Tourism and Consumption Projects |
HONG KONG, Mar 13, 2015 - (ACN Newswire) - Carnival Group International Holdings Limited ("Carnival Group International" or the "Group;" stock code: 996), China's only publicly listed developer of large-scale integrated tourism, hospitality and retail projects that combine theme parks, hotels, outlet shopping for international premium brands, dining, conference and exhibition centres, leisure, entertainment and recreational facilities, has announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2014 ("FY2014"). The Group has reported a turnaround during the year with a net profit of approximately HK$118 million. The improved performance was attributable to increase in property sales, decrease in non-cash item adjustments and decrease in finance costs.
 | | Carnival Group International Reports 2014 Annual Profit of Approximately HK$118 Million |
Rio Carnival (Qingdao) - China's largest multi-functional, one-stop experiential tourism, hospitality and retail project
During the period under review, Carnival Group International has further driven the development of its integrated tourism, hospitality and retail project in a bid to capture the enormous opportunities brought about by the structural transformation of the Chinese economy and the Chinese government's strong support for tourism and leisure consumption as pillar industries to drive long-term economic growth. According to the latest statistics of the China National Tourism Administration, the number of domestic tourists in Mainland China during the Chinese New Year holiday period in 2015 increased by 12.9% year-on-year to 261 million. Tourism revenue during the same period grew at an even faster pace, jumping by 14.6% to RMB144.8 billion, which demonstrates the enormous growth potential of the tourism sector and tourist spending power in China.
Carnival Group International has spent four years developing its flagship project, Rio Carnival (Qingdao), which is scheduled to commence operation in phases starting from the second quarter of this year. This project will attract visitors from Shandong Province as well as domestic and overseas tourists. Huang Dao New District, Qingdao City, Shandong Province where Rio Carnival (Qingdao) is located was designated as the 9th National New Area in China in 2014. It is situated in the core area of the Shandong Peninsula Blue Economic Zone, facing the thriving Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Bohai Economic Rim to the north and linking the dynamic Yangtze River Delta Metropolitan Region to the south. With tourism industry being one of the top 10 focused development industries and Sino-Japanese and Sino-Korean trade zones being developed in the Huang Dao New District, our Qingdao project will not only cover the domestic tourism market, but will also attract visitors from Japan, Korea and across the whole Northeast Asia region.
Our Rio Carnival (Qingdao) flagship project, which has a total investment of over RMB8 billion, occupies an area of approximately 350,000 sq. m. and gross floor area ("GFA") of approximately 800,000 sq. m.. It is the only large-scale integrated commercial, residential and tourism complex of its kind in China, featuring international premium brand outlet shopping mall, indoor and outdoor theme parks, luxury hotels, themed food and beverage dining street by the canal and the "Qingdao Eye" ferris wheel. It is set to become the largest multi-functional, one-stop experiential entertainment and tourism destination in China. Under the professional leadership of Ms. Mara Wang, who is crowned as the "Leasing Diva" of Taiwan, acclaimed for her success and experience in developing and operating retail projects throughout Asia, our Rio Carnival Outlet will include a large number of international premium brands. Ms. Wang developed and operated the E-Da World project in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, part of which, the E-Da Outlet Mall, is the first shopping outlet directly operated by international premium brands in Taiwan. E-Da Outlet Mall has attracted top international brands such as Gucci, YSL, Burberry, S.Ferragamo, Armani, TOD'S/ HOGAN, a testoni, Hugo Boss, Valentino, Coach, Polo Ralph Lauren and so on. Rio Carnival Outlet will include not only international premium brands but also Shandong Province's largest Jackie Chan Yaolai International Cinema, the world's largest LEGO experience centre for kids, a Polar Bear Ice Skating Rink which can host international competitions, and renowned and high quality international dining options from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries. Rio Carnival Outlet will provide a unique experience for patrons and offer a wider range of exciting services compared to other outlet malls, so as to meet the diverse needs of consumers.
Another highlight of the Qingdao project is the Rio Carnival Theme Park comprising of an indoor family entertainment centre, an outdoor water park and a dynamic indoor thrill park, which was master-planned and designed by Sanderson Group, a well-known amusement park designer from Australia. With total planned GFA of approximately 60,000 sq. m., Rio Carnival Theme Park will provide more than 50 rides and attractions such as 4D cinema, roller coaster, outdoor water park, and leisure and entertainment zones. The Park will also feature water adventure themed facilities and 4D movie technology which integrates visual, audio and lighting features, thereby offering an innovative and exciting entertainment experience to adults and kids alike. Rio Carnival Theme Park is to be the only theme park in northern China that will be operational for the entire year regardless of weather conditions, as our indoor parks will be able to open to the public and generate income throughout the year.
With a distinguished history of 150 years in Europe's hospitality industry, Langham Hospitality Group will manage and operate two hotels in Rio Carnival (Qingdao), the luxury Langham Place Hotel and the five-star Eaton Luxe Hotel. The two hotels will occupy a total area of approximately 63,000 sq. m., and have a total GFA of approximately 200,000 sq. m. (including the convention centre area), and provide more than 700 guest rooms and luxury suites. Combined with sophisticated contemporary cuisine crafted by Michelin 2-star restaurant, Ming Court, airlifting fresh quality foodstuff from around the world every day, and a one-stop modern exhibition centre, Rio Carnival (Qingdao) is expected to set a new standard and will become an important milestone for China's domestic tourism development.
Introduction of institutional investors; inclusion in the Hang Seng Composite Mid Cap Index, Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the MSCI Small Cap Index
As China's only publicly-listed developer of large-scale integrated tourism, hospitality and retail projects, Carnival Group International's outstanding prospects have been recognised by institutional investors. Last year, Taiwan-based CTBC Life Insurance Co., Ltd. ("CTBC Life") and Ping An Life Insurance Company of China, Ltd. ("Ping An Life"), a leading Asia Pacific financial institution, have become strategic shareholders of the Group, with Ping An Life becoming the Group's second largest shareholder. This underscores the affirmation of institutional investors on the development of Carnival Group International in the past year and its future growth prospects. On 14 May 2014, the Group became a constituent in the MSCI Small Cap Index. In addition, effective from 9 March 2015, the Group has become a constituent in the Hang Seng Composite Mid Cap Index and has been included in the Northbound Trading of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, all of which has helped to diversify the shareholder base of the Group.
Mr. King Pak Fu, Chairman of Carnival Group International, said, "The year of 2014 marked a year of remarkable business developments for the Group. In addition to its successful turnaround to profitability, Carnival Group International became a constituent in the Hang Seng Composite Mid Cap Index and was included in the Northbound Trading of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, starting from 9 March 2015, in recognition of our unique business model and optimistic industry prospects, marking another important milestone in the development of the Group. Looking ahead, the Group's core business, integrated tourism and leisure projects, will continue to benefit from the growing tourism market, expanding middle class and trend towards a consumption-driven economy. The Chinese Central Government's policy has expanded financial support for the development of the tourism industry and fully supported tourism projects' development into capitalised assets. We believe that the Group can fully leverage the uniqueness of our business model to gain first-mover advantage and seize the opportunities in the industry. We will continue to explore quality large-scale tourism and leisure projects in China and selected overseas destinations and strive to become a leading integrated tourism, hospitality and retail services project developer in China and abroad, thereby generating stable, long-term and abundant investment returns for our shareholders."
Mr. Leung Wing Cheong, Eric, Chief Executive Officer of Carnival Group International, said, "In 2014, the Group continued to evaluate quality tourism, leisure and consumption projects in China and overseas. We also successfully gained CTBC Life and Ping An Life as our strategic shareholders. Their investments demonstrate the confidence of two leading financial institutions in the Asia Pacific Region in our operation of experiential consumption business. These investments also improve our ability to raise capital through different channels, thus laying a solid ground for our future development. Our flagship project, Rio Carnival (Qingdao) will open in phases starting from next quarter and is set to generate considerable cash flow. In the coming year, the Group will continue to develop diversified experiential consumption projects by developing and acquiring quality lifestyle businesses, which may include dining, medical beauty and edutainment (combining education and entertainment) across Greater China Region and overseas. At the same time, the Group will use greater efforts to promote our unique business model, future development plan and substantial enterprise value to domestic and international capital markets while actively conducting various capital market initiatives, with the aim to further strengthening our capital resources for developing more investment projects which generate strong cash flow, thereby creating greater value and benefits for our shareholders."
Contact:
Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Grace Lai Tel: (852) 2114 4313 Email: grace.lai@sprg.com.hk
Sophie Du Tel: (852) 2114 4901 Email: sophie.du@sprg.com.hk
Topic: Press release summary
Source: Carnival Group International Holdings Limited
Sectors: Daily Finance, Daily News
https://www.acnnewswire.com
From the Asia Corporate News Network
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