ADFD forms $105m JV with Minor to support five hotels in Thailand

This is the fund’s first investment in Thailand’s tourism sector, which accounts for 20% of the country’s GDP

Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort is one of the five tourist properties in Thailand in which Abu Dhabi Fund for Development will invest. Image: Anantara

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has formed a $104.8 million joint venture with Bangkok-based Minor International Public Company Limited (MINT) to invest in five tourist resort assets in Thailand.

The properties include Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort, Avani and Riverside Bangkok Hotel, Riverside Plaza Bangkok, Anantara Layan Phuket Resort and Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui. These properties have more than 760 rooms and support nearly 500 jobs.

The deal marks ADFD’s first investment in Thailand’s tourism and hospitality sector that accounts for 20 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

“We see tremendous potential in the future trajectory of Thailand’s tourism and hospitality sector,” Mohamed Al Suwaidi, director general of ADFD, said.

“Given MINT’s leading position as the strongest hospitality operator in Thailand, this long-term investment partnership complements our investment strategy to collectively promote economic growth of our partner countries,” said Mr Suwaidi.

Established in July 1971 by Sheikh Zayed, the UAE’s Founding Father, ADFD has invested about Dh150 billion ($40.8bn) on thousands of projects in 103 countries, making the UAE one of the largest donors of development aid worldwide.

MINT is one of the largest hospitality and leisure companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

MINT is looking forward to “working together in the future to bolster our impact in the countries in which we operate together”, said Dillip Rajakarier, group chief executive of Minor International.

“This transaction signifies our continuous commitment to strengthen our balance sheet and solidify our liquidity position to ensure that we are poised for both the recovery to come and long-term growth,” he added.

MINT will hold 60 per cent of the joint venture while ADFD will hold 40 per cent of each asset.

For MINT, the ADFD investment will reduce the company’s debt level and strengthen its balance sheet position. The five assets will continue to be operated under the existing brands and under the control of MINT.

ADFD aims to help emerging countries by providing concessionary loans to finance sustainable development projects, as well as administering long-term investments and direct contributions. In addition to managing development grants offered by the Abu Dhabi government, ADFD has adopted a policy of supporting the national economy and financing UAE private sector investments.