UAE expansion plan
The expansion plan in the hospitality business of Samana group will also include hotels in Dubai and other cities in UAE.
“Dubai and some other locations in UAE are on our radar for the proposed expansion plans. These are, however, still in the planning stage,” Koramba said.
The group is still deciding whether to go with a local hotel partner in the UAE or to introduce the brand under through management contracts, he added.
Funding
A major chunk of the financing required for the proposed expansion plans in the group’s hospitality business is expected to come from the proceeds of the $560 million Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) – SGF 2020 – which the group has launched last month in India and Abu Dhabi.
Samana has tied up with IBMC UAE to float a feeder fund in Abu Dhabi to tap investors from GCC and other international markets for the $560 million AIF and is in talks with sovereign wealth funds, family offices and other large fund houses in the Gulf to invest in the fund.
Besides hospitality, Samana also operates businesses in the healthcare, real estate and information technology sectors.
Source: Reported by James Mathew in Hotelier’s sister publication Arabian Business
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