Ascott to expand faster in China

Ascott, which operates serviced residences internationally, will expand faster in China. It will manage 20,000 serviced apartments this year, three years ahead of schedule, the company's top management said.

"China is ahead of the rest of the world in various fields - including artificial intelligence, unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic payments and so on. Thanks to this rapidly developing environment, we were able to achieve our goal ahead of schedule and now we're ready to set the next one," said Tan Tze Shang, managing director of Ascott China.

A 100-percent Capita-Land subsidiary, the company owns brands like Ascott, Citadines, Somerset, Quest The, Crest Collection and Lyf. It operates over 18,000 serviced residences in China, a market it entered from Tianjin in 1998.