CapitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited, has clinched a contract to manage a 174-unit serviced residence in Kuta. To be named Citadines Bali Kuta, the serviced residence will open in 2012.

The new serviced residence, Citadines Bali Kuta, will be located on the main arterial road of Jalan Raya Kuta, close to major shopping, dining and entertainment outlets. The five-storey serviced residence, comprising studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment units, is close to Kuta beach.

The contract is awarded by Indonesian developer PT Rudy Indopratama Sejahtera. It increases Ascott‟s presence in Indonesia to over 1,800 serviced apartment units across nine properties in Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali. Ascott is currently the largest international serviced residence owner- operator in Indonesia.

According to the Bali Tourism Authority, in 2009, Bali received close to 2.26 million foreign visitors who stayed an average of almost nine days on the island. Tourism was estimated to have contributed US$2.7 billion ($3.7 billion) in foreign exchange earnings to Bali’s economy last year. This represents 42% of Indonesia’s tourism earnings in 2009.

Besides Citadines Bali Kuta, Ascott will open its first Citadines property in Indonesia, Citadines Jakarta Quartier, later this year; Citadines Jakarta Rasuna in 2011 and Ascott Kuningan Jakarta in 2012. Currently, the company has five operating serviced residences in Indonesia, namely Ascott Jakarta, Somerset Berlian, Somerset Grand Citra, and Country Woods in Jakarta as well as Somerset Surabaya Hotel & Serviced Residence.