Three top travel agencies to equitise soon

Three leading travel agencies in Vietnam, which own a range of luxury hotels, look set to equitise by the end of next year.
Three top travel agencies to equitise soon
Three top travel agencies to equitise soon ảnh 1The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. (Photo: cafe.vn)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Three leading travel agencies in Vietnam, which own arange of luxury hotels, look set to equitise by the end of next year.

They are Saigontourist Holding Company, Ben Thanh Group andHanoitourist Travel Co Ldt.

The three companies are included in the list of 93State-owned enterprises that were approved for equitisation before the end of2020 under a decision recently signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Hanoitourist Corporation was established in 1963 and convertedto a limited liability company in 2010. The corporation has 40 affiliatedunits, member companies, joint stock companies and joint venture companies.

They include Hanoitourist Travel Company, Hanoi Service andTourism Company and Hanoi Entertainment Service Company, which operates HanoiWest Lake Park. They also have offices for rent in many prime locations in thecapital city.

Notably, Hanoitourist owns the most luxurious hotel system inthe northern region. The company currently holds stakes in fivefive-star hotels in Hanoi.

It is also stakeholder in some four-star hotels in Hanoi suchas Hanoi Hotel, Thang Long Opera Hotel andHilton Garden Inn Hanoi, and some other big hotels in the provinces of Dien Bien, Quang Binh and Phan Thiet.

In 2018, Hanoitourist recorded net revenue of 707 billion VND, up 26 percent, but its consolidated after-tax profitwas 225 billion VND, down 13 percent. By the endof 2018, Hanoitourist had total assets of 3.7 trillion VND, chartered capital of 2.7 trillion VND and suffered accumulated losses of 36 billion VND.

Saigontourist Holding Company, founded in 1975, also owns a diverse hotel system. It now manages eight travel servicecompanies, 54 hotels, 13 resorts and 28 restaurants. Saigontourist has investedin more than 50 domestic companies and nine foreign-invested joint venturecompanies.

It has also invested in restaurants, entertainment, SCTVtelevision and the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center.

Saigontourist hold stakes in seven five-star hotels in HCMCity including Rex Hotel, Majestic, Grand Saigon, Caravelle, New World,Sheraton Saigon and Pullman Saigon Center and one five-star hotel – theMajestic Hotel – in the northern province of Quang Ninh. It has also invested in a series of four-star hotels acrossthe country.

Last year, Saigontourist received 2.92 million visitors, up14.8 percent. The average occupancy of its hotels was 68 percent, up from 64percent in 2017. The company recorded revenue of 6.7 trillion VND, up 7 percent year on year, and consolidatedafter-tax profit of 983 billion VND, down 15percent.

By the end of 2018, Saigontourist had total assets of 11.9trillion VND, chartered capital of 7 trillion VND and undistributed profit of more than 2 trillion VND.

Ben Thanh Group, established in December 1997, has investedin 32 member enterprises in four fields including tourism services, tradeservices, real estate services and industrial production.

Some member companies of the  group include Ben Thanh Jewelry(BTJ-owned Precita), car distribution company Saigon general servicecorporation (Savico), Hue Travel, Ben Thanh Tourist,Norfolk Mansion and Phu Nhuan Trading Joint Stock Company.

Ben Thanh Group also owns a diverse system of 25 hotels andresorts.

Last year, the grouprecorded net revenue of 385 billion VND, up62 percent, but its after-tax profit fell 38 percent to 175 billion VND. – VNS/VNA
VNA

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