Luo Xuerui, chairman and CEO of Regal Hotels International, says that Regal is able to speed its expansion now that it has successfully had its business transformed into a real estate investment trust.

A real estate investment trust is a security that sells like a stock on the major exchanges and invests in real estate directly, either through properties or mortgages. REITs receive special tax considerations and typically offer investors high yields, as well as a highly liquid method of investing in real estate. Individuals can often invest in REITs either by purchasing their shares directly on an open exchange or by investing in a mutual fund that specializes in public real estate. An additional benefit to investing in REITs is the fact that many are accompanied by dividend reinvestment plans.

Luo told local media that Regal would directly invest in more than 10 properties and manage 20-40 hotels in Chinese mainland in the coming five years. All those hotels, which will be mainly 4-star and 5-star ones and will offer more than 300 rooms, will be located in the first tier and second tier cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Regal will invest about RMB500 million in each of the 10 directly-invested hotels.

Regal Hotels International, a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly listed Regal Hotels International Holdings Limited, is one of the largest hotel group in Hong Kong. RHI currently manages five hotels in the Hong Kong region, namely, Regal Airport Hotel at the Hong Kong International Airport, Regal Hongkong Hotel in Causeway Bay, Regal Kowloon Hotel in Tsimshatsui East, Regal Oriental Hotel in Kowloon City, and Regal Riverside Hotel in Shatin. In addition, the Group operates two hotels in Shanghai, Regal International East Asia Hotel and Regal Shanghai East Asia Hotel.