KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): Resort and property developer Landmarks Bhd has teamed up with Singapore-based ML Hotel Investments Pte Ltd to develop, own and operate two international hotel chains at its flagship Treasure Bay Bintan development in Bintan, Indonesia.

In a statement today, Landmarks said its wholly-owned subsidiary PT Bintan Hotel Utama has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with ML Hotel Investments for the proposed projects.

Both hotels, Mercure and ibis Budget, are expected to open in 2017 and will be managed by Accor Group.

Mercure will be a mid-scale hotel with its personality rooted in the local culture, while ibis Budget will provide essential comfort at a budget price.

When completed, Mercure will be the island’s tallest landmark at 10-storey high. It will offer 182 new rooms to Treasure Bay Bintan, of which 114 long-term leases will be made available for sale.

ibis Budget, meanwhile, will feature 162 rooms.

“With this JV and other partnerships with international hospitality brands in the pipeline, we are poised to position Treasure Bay Bintan as Southeast Asia’s leading leisure destination," said Landmarks chief operating officer Fong Chee Khuen in a statement today.

"We are confident that Phase 1 of Treasure Bay Bintan will serve as a catalyst in creating lasting real estate value and augmenting Bintan’s tourism offering, by bringing in unique leisure and entertainment concepts not found anywhere else in the region,” he added.

As at 4pm, Landmarks (fundamental: 1.65; valuation: 0.9) shares were traded unchanged at RM1.37, with 198,000 shares done, for a market capitalisation of RM663.52 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)