SINGAPORE – City Developments Limited (CDL) on Tuesday said it acquired a hotel in Myeongdong, Seoul, for 140 billion won (S$143.9 million).

The hotel, Nine Tree Premier Hotel Myeongdong II, is a freehold 17-storey property comprising 408 rooms. It opened in 2017, CDL said.

The acquisition marks the group’s second hotel acquisition in 2023, following its proposed acquisition of the landmark five-star Sofitel Brisbane Central announced in March.

The Seoul hotel is within the Myeongdong-Euljiro commercial district, near Myeongdong’s walking street and departmental stores Lotte and Shinsegae. It is also within walking distance to Euljiro 3-ga subway station.

CDL’s wholly owned subsidiary CDL Hotels (Korea) bought the hotel from Shinhan Nine Tree Real Estate Investment Trust.

The property developer said the Myeongdong hotel is well-placed to benefit from the positive market recovery momentum amid robust demand from international visitors.

It noted that Seoul’s hotel room supply pipeline “continues to be moderated” as existing hotels get converted into residential or commercial buildings.

“This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to investing in Korea,” said CDL executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng.

In February 2022, CDL completed the sale of Millennium Hilton Seoul along with its adjoining land site for 1.1 trillion won. It bought the hotel in 1999, entering the hospitality market at the time.

“Since divesting the property and its adjoining land site in February 2022, we have been actively seeking new opportunities to reinvest in Korea,” Mr Kwek said. THE BUSINESS TIMES