The Ascott Limited (Ascott), the world’s largest international serviced residence owner-operator, has secured a contract to manage its first Citadines-branded serviced residence in Chengdu.  Citadines South Chengdu, set to open in 2014, strengthens Ascott’s leading position as the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in China with approximately 8,000 apartment units in 43 properties across 17 cities. Currently, Ascott operates one Somerset-branded serviced residence in Chengdu and plans two more premier Ascott-branded properties by the end of 2015. This new contract, adds Chengdu to Shanghai and Suzhou as one of three cities in China to host each of Ascott’s award-winning brands of serviced residences: Ascott The Residence, Citadines Apart’hotel and Somerset Serviced Residence.

About Citadines South Chengdu

Citadines South Chengdu, located in Chengdu’s Hi-tech District, is conveniently next to the Science and Technology Zone metro station and just 30 minutes’ drive from Shuangliu International Airport and Chengdu South railway station.  The 177-unit residence comprises a selection of spacious studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, each with a fully-equipped kitchen and separate work/sleep areas.  Facilities include a gym, sauna, roof garden, breakfast lounge, children’s indoor play area and meeting rooms.

As part of the Chengdu ICON Genesis Plaza, Citadines South Chengdu has direct access to the restaurants, offices and retail outlets within the building.  It is also surrounded by many office towers – housing multinational corporations (Nokia Siemens, Symantec, Maersk, IBM and more), a variety of attractions, and an extensive choice of high-end shopping malls.

Mr Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director for North Asia, said: “Chengdu has strong growth opportunities for serviced residences. Its economy grew by more than 13% for the first half of 2012 over the same period last year. In Central and Western China, Chengdu has been ranked the top city with the most Fortune 500 companies. Chengdu is also a popular tourist destination and venue for exhibitions and conferences.”

Mr Lee added: “Citadines offers guests the flexibility to choose the services they require and we currently have about 70 Citadines-branded serviced residences in Asia Pacific and Europe. In China, besides Citadines South Chengdu, we have nine other Citadines-branded properties in cities such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, Suzhou and Xi’an. By bringing Citadines to Chengdu, expatriates, project teams and travellers will have more choices as they can choose from our three award-winning brands of serviced residences to suit their lifestyle needs.”

Source: Press Release