Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the hotel major with properties and assets worth $ 1.2 billion worldwide, has decided to enter India through a wholly owned subsidiary.
The group had made an unsuccessful attempt to set up shop in the country six years ago.
Mandarin Oriental Ltd, the Bermuda arm of the global hotel major, which is part of Jardine Matheson Group, sought permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board a fortnight ago to set up a company.
According to sources close to the development, the group is committed to making long-term investments in India and can make considerable contribution to the country's hotel and tourism industries.
The group's previous attempt to set up operations here did not materialise due to differences with its local partner, Indian Hotels & Health Resorts.
As part of its acquisition of the Rafael group in 2000, Mandarin Oriental inherited a joint venture with Indian Hotels & Health Resorts. Mandarin and Indian Hotels had formed a 70:30 venture called Mandarin Hotels India but the relationship did not flourish and they terminated the agreement in 2001.
The global major planned to operate in management and consultancy services to begin with and would make investments in hotels and other hospitality and tourism ventures in the future, the sources said.
Mandarin Oriental's parent company Mandarin Oriental International is listed on the stock exchanges of London, Singapore and Bermuda. The group manages 21 luxury hotels, resorts and spas across the globe.
It is developing properties in Prague, China, Mexico, Boston, Macau, Las Vegas, Grand Cayman and Chicago. It operated nearly 8,500 rooms in 15 countries with 14 hotels in Asia, 11 in the US and 4 in Europe.
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