Ascott Acquires Fifth Serviced Residence in India

First international serviced residence company to enter Hyderabad

Singapore, 10 December 2007 – The Ascott Group (Ascott) has signed a joint venture agreement with The Rattha Group (Rattha) to acquire its fifth serviced residence in India. The 218-unit property, to be named Citadines Hyderabad Hitec City, is Ascott’s first serviced residence in Hyderabad. Ascott will invest INR 407.6 million (S$15.0 million) to acquire a 49% equity stake in Citadines Hyderabad Hitec City. Rattha will hold the remaining majority stake.

This latest joint venture is part of Ascott’s master development agreement signed with Rattha in August 2006. The agreement aims to acquire and develop seven serviced residences with a total of at least 1,000 units in India by 2010.

Ms Jennie Chua, Ascott’s President & CEO said: "The addition of Citadines Hyderabad Hitec City puts the Group ahead of the target set out under the agreement with Rattha. Ascott now has five properties with more than 1,100 units under development in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. We will continue to seek new business opportunities in other cities including New Delhi and Mumbai. Our strategy is to entrench our foothold in India as a first-mover by leveraging on the growing demand for quality-class serviced residences across India’s first tier and emerging cities."

 Mr Chong Kee Hiong, Ascott’s Deputy CEO (Finance & Investment) said: "We see tremendous growth opportunities in Hyderabad as it is a vibrant business city and there is currently no international serviced residence operator there. Citadines Hyderabad Hitec City will be in the heart of Hitec City, a major technology township where the Hyderabad International Convention Centre is located. It will also be close to numerous office buildings, IT parks and multinational companies. When completed, the serviced residence will be poised to tap into the rising accommodation needs of business travellers, in particular those from the IT and biotechnology industries."

Citadines Hyderabad Hitec City is targeted to open in the first half of 2010. With this latest addition, Ascott will have a total of 1,178 serviced residence units in five properties under development in India. The other four properties are Somerset Whitefield, Bangalore, Citadines Chennai Boulevard, Citadines Chennai OMR Gateway and Somerset Greenways, Chennai. These serviced residences are slated to open between 2008 and 2009.

About The Ascott Group

The Ascott Group is the largest international serviced residence owner-operator with close to 14,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region, as well as more than 5,500 units which are under development, making a total of over 19,500 units.

The Group operates three brands – Ascott, Somerset and Citadines. Its portfolio spans 54 cities in 23 countries, 12 of which are cities where Ascott's serviced residences are being newly developed.

The Ascott Group is headquartered in Singapore. It pioneered Asia Pacific's first branded luxury serviced residence in 1984. It also established the world’s first pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust, Ascott Residence Trust, in 2006. Today, the Group boasts a 23-year industry track record and serviced residence brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.

The Ascott Group's achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include Business Traveller China Awards 2007 ‘Best Serviced Residence Brand’, World Travel Awards 2007 ‘Australasia’s Leading Hotel’ and ‘New Zealand’s Leading Hotel’, TTG Travel Awards 2007 ‘Best Serviced Residence Operator’, Business Traveller UK Awards 2007 ‘Best Serviced Residence Company’, Business Traveller Asia Pacific 2007 ‘Best Serviced Residence Brand’ and ‘Best Serviced Residence’, and Forbes China 2008 ‘China’s Best Serviced Apartments’. For a full list of awards, please visit http://www.theascottgroup.com/aboutus/awards

Listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange, The Ascott Group is the serviced residence arm of CapitaLand Limited, one of the largest listed real estate companies in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, the multinational company's core businesses in real estate, hospitality and real estate financial services are focused in gateway cities in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. The company's real estate and hospitality portfolio spans more than 100 cities in over 20 countries.

For more information on The Ascott Group’s property listings, visit http://www.theascottgroup.com/aboutus/group_directory.html