The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has signed a formal management contract with Shenzhen Galaxy Real Estate Company to manage a 245-room luxury hotel which is scheduled to open in the middle of 2007.

The upcoming Ritz-Carlton Shenzhen is strategically located in Shenzhen's Futian Cental Business District, adjacent to the Exhibition Center, and is part of a large coplex with contains office space and a shopping arcade. The hotel will have four food and beverage outlets.

Currently there are a number of different hotels under development in Shenzhen, and rooms are excepted to double in 2007 as all the hotels open their doors for business.

Asia continues to provide an outstanding growth opportunity for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, said Simon F. Cooper, president and chief operating officer.  We are proud to partner with Shenzhen Galaxy Industrial Company in the development of this extraordinary new property.  The location offers significant advantages with its presence in the Futian Central Business District and location across from the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre in this up and coming business destination.
 
The company's flagship property in China, The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai opened in 1998 and is the leading luxury hotel in the nation, having twice won recognition as Overall Best Employer in Asia by Hewitt Associates, The Asian Wall Street Journal and Far Eastern Economic Review.  The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, opened in 1993 and was ranked No. 4 in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Hotels for Service in 2004.  Currently under construction are The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, The Ritz-Carlton Financial Street, Beijing and The Ritz-Carlton, Guangzhou.