Jinjiang International Holdings Co Ltd, China's largest hotel conglomerate, is aiming to build up seven brands, ranging from five-star to budget hotels, to facilitate its nationwide expansion.

"We have many famous brands, such as the Peace Hotel and Park Hotel," said Yu Minliang, chief executive officer of Jinjiang International. "But their brand awareness is still far less than that of foreign rivals."

Yu did not elaborate on which brands the group will use, saying the selection and design process was ongoing.

Currently, Jinjiang International manages more than 10 hotel brands, many of which are used only in one market.

In Shanghai, for example, the group manages four five-star hotels under four different brands. They are the Peace Hotel, Jinjiang Hotel, Huating Hotel & Towers and Jinjiang Tower. The group also manages five four-star hotels. In addition, there are 14 three-star hotels.

In the budget hotel sector, the group has established the Jinjiang Inn brand through franchising. Under the brand is 23 hotels, including 17 in Shanghai.

Yu said he was confident the Jinjiang Inn brand was capable of standing up to the forthcoming challenges from international hotel management groups, such as Intercontinental Hotels Group and Accor Hotels. Both have announced their plan to introduce their Holiday Inn Express and Ibis chains, respectively, to China soon.

Yu views the lower management fees as a major competitive edge over the foreign rivals.

For instance, the company collects 300,000 yuan (US$36,145) from the 150-room Jinjiang Inn franchisee annually. In comparison, foreign hotel management companies could collect at least 1.5 million yuan.

Jinjiang International, created in June through the merger of Shanghai Jinjiang Holdings Co Ltd and Shanghai New Asia (Group) Co Ltd, plans to increase its hotels to 300 by 2008. Currently, the company owns and manages 105 hotels, including 43 locally.

The company has secured a 10 billion yuan credit line from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for business expansion.

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