Metro Pacific, Dusit ink P1.6B PH hospitality venture

Khun Suphajee Suthumpun, Dusit International Group CEO

Infrastructure holding firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is diversifying into the hospitality business in the Philippines in partnership with Thai hotel and development firm Dusit International.

MPIC, which is led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, signed a P1.6-billion investment agreement with Dusit to develop and manage jointly hospitality and residential properties in the Philippines, the company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Starting this year, MPIC and Dusit will focus on the development of two hotels and three condominiums at sites long held by MPIC in Batangas, as well as upgrading Dusit’s existing properties in the Philippines.

MPIC’s newest real estate, hospitality, and tourism subsidiary, Metro Vantage Properties Inc. (MVPI) will lead the design, development, marketing and sales of the real estate properties, while Dusit Thani Philippines will oversee the hospitality and tourism side of the business.

“We hope to play a significant role in changing the landscape of this thriving industry in the Philippines through our partnership with Dusit International, a company with over seven decades of experience in bringing hospitality all over the world,” said MPIC chair Pangilinan.

“We will seek to develop additional sites over time as demand grows for tourism and travel in the country,” he said.

“This partnership comes at an ideal time as the tourism industry in the Philippines continues to expand. This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our expertise in bringing distinct Thai hospitality and MPIC’s place in the Philippine market to deliver unique hotel experiences fulfilling the needs of our guests,” said Dusit International Group chief cxecutive officer Suphajee Suthumpun.