Minor International Pcl, one of Asia’s largest hospitality groups, plans to halve its over $7 billion liabilities by floating a real-estate investment trust (REIT) next year, while betting on a strong recovery in tourism to drive a double-digit growth. The operator of more than 500 hotels worldwide, Minor plans to float “a very strong REIT” by re-deploying some of the properties in its portfolio to cut its liabilities, said Bill Heinecke, chairman of the Bangkok-based company.
The move will further reduce the leverage and have a “major impact” on the company, he said without identifying hotels that will be brought under the planned REIT. Minor’s total liabilities stood at 255 billion baht ($7.3 billion) at the end of September,…
