BIZ BUZZ: Injap eyeing Nasdaq route

Last January, Biz Buzz revealed that billionaire Edgar “Injap” Sia II planned to take on AirBnb on the global stage with his own vision for Hotel101 which, if things go according to plan, will eventually have over 100 locations around the world.

But how will DoubleDragon—which Sia co-founded by Jollibee’s Tony Tancaktiong —raise the capital for such an ambitious venture?

Well, there are exciting rumors that the company’s whiz kids and financial advisers are now working on a most interesting fund raising route.

In particular, we heard that they are now quietly talking to a number of cash-rich SPACs that are listed on Nasdaq in the United States.

SPAC is short for special purpose acquisition company, which is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange in the United States.

But unlike local shell corporations, SPACs hold cash from investors who entrusted their money to the SPACs’ managers to invest according to pre-agreed guidelines. Once SPACs invest these funds successfully, everyone shares in the returns. But if a SPAC is unable to find a suitable investment over 18 to 24 months, the money is returned to investors.

And word on the street is that Sia is probing a number of Nasdaq-listed “blank check” SPACs that are set to “expire” over the next few months for Hotel101’s expansion needs.

That means if these SPACs don’t find investment venues, they’ll have to return the money they hold to their investors. Well, a visionary young billionaire with big plans for a global budget hotel chain might just be what these SPACs need.

This situation presents a unique opportunity for DoubleDragon as SPACs were scarce at the start of the pandemic a few years ago. But today, everyone in the United Sates is looking for worthy investment venues for their cash, it seems.

The initial goal for the DoubleDragon team, we hear, is to raise about $200 million through this route (which is really peanuts for many SPACs in the United States) to finance the expansion of Hotel101 Global.

If this works, Hotel101 Global will be the first Philippine company to be listed on Nasdaq via this novel method.

More importantly, everything can be executed relatively fast—as fast as three to five months, barring any hitches. Now THAT will really speed things up for Hotel101’s global ambitions.

—Daxim L. Lucas

Filipino ‘hilot’ goes to Nepal

The classic hilot, the traditional Filipino art of healing, is now available in Nepal, thanks to the newly opened Miraaya Wellness and Golf Resort, positioned as “Nepal’s first boutique destination for wellness, spiritual enrichment and adventure with tranquility.”

Located at the foothills of Devchuli, which is considered sacred in Nepal and of significant cultural and historical importance, Miraaya offers the Filipino hilot as its wide range of wellness services were designed and are supervised by the multiawarded ecoluxury wellness resort The Farm at San Benito in Batangas.

Because of the export of expertise and knowledge from The Farm at San Benito, guests of the Miraaya Wellness and Golf Resort – a sanctuary where wellness and leisure merge – stand to enjoy “healing holidays and indulge in wellness cuisine, mindful movement activities, holistic detox programs, weight loss programs and various spa services.”

Both wellness resorts are under the Kathmandu-based CG Hospitality group, one of the units under the Chaudhary conglomerate, and the synergy fills Chaudhary Group managing director Rahul Chaudhary with pride.

“The exceptional wellness services at Miraaya, carefully curated and supervised by the renowned and multiawarded eco-luzury medical wellness resort, The Farm by San Benito, showcase the culmination of our expertise in holistic wellness hospitality,” Chaudhary said.

– Tina Arceo-Dumlao