HHI plans Rs 350 crore investment for expansion

KOLKATA, Oct 4: Hospitality chain HHI Group of Hotels is planning to invest Rs 350 crore over the next three years on expansion and is in talks with private equity players for raising funds.
“We plan to invest Rs 350 crore by 2015 on adding 500 rooms. We have land bank,” HHI Group of Hotels Chairman and Managing Director D K Jaiswal told in an interview.
“While 40 per cent of the funding would be internal, for the rest 60 per cent we are talking to financial institutions. We are also trying for private equity funds for PE shareholding, provided they suit our requirement,” he added.
The company has no immediate plans to tap the capital market.
Jaiswal said HHI is working on four projects in Patna, Raipur, Indore and Goa. The Goa property is a 180-room upmarket hotel in the prime south of the state and is expected to opened by October next year.
“We have earmarked land for the Patna, Raipur and Indore properties. Each year, we should be able to open one hotel,” Jaiswal said.
On the group’s plans to enter the capital market, he said the current market is not conducive for an initial public offering and the Group would wait and watch.
“At present, market is not so good. I don’t think any IPO will be successful at the moment. So, we will not go in for a public issue in the next two years,” he said. (PTI)