CHARTING NEW WATERS
Forbes Indonesia|September 2021
PONTIAC LAND’S EVAN KWEE IS PUSHING PAST THE PANDEMIC WITH A NEW RESORT DEVELOPMENT IN THE MALDIVES, AS PART OF THE KWEE FAMILY’S EXPANSION OUT OF SINGAPORE AND INTO THE GLOBAL HIGH-END HOSPITALITY MARKET.
JESSICA TAN
CHARTING NEW WATERS

EVAN KWEE HAS LONG LOVED HOTELS.

“I still remember peering over our balcony [at home in Singapore] every night watching them construct the Regent [hotel] as a young boy. Hotels are in my blood,” he once said in an interview. It’s a good love to have as he is part of the Kwee family, who owns one of Singapore’s largest property groups—including the Regent—that is chaired by his father Kwee Liong Tek.

Now the younger Kwee is helming one of the biggest hospitality projects ever undertaken by Pontiac Land— the Fari Islands development in the Maldives. At 88 hectares, this project is the largest by land size that Pontiac Land has done. The first phase of the development has cost to date about $400 million—more than the $345 million in revenues that the group had last year—and the entire project won’t be finished for another two years. Fari Islands is a major bet for the family, who rank No. 11 on Singapore’s 50 Richest list with a fortune of $5.4 billion.

With the pandemic, Kwee’s dual role as vice chairman of Capella Hotel Group and head of hospitality and design for Pontiac Land puts him in a crucial position. He’s optimistic: “We’ve received excellent feedback and strong interest since the opening.” Its two recently launched hotels are averaging about 30% occupancy, a rate that is typical during the low season in the Maldives. One is a Ritz-Carlton, the chain’s first property in the Maldives, while the second is a Patina, an in-house sister brand of Capella. A third hotel, the Capella Maldives, is slated to open in 2023. Each of the three has its own manmade island, all located in an atoll and centered around a deep lagoon.

Denne historien er fra September 2021-utgaven av Forbes Indonesia.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 2021-utgaven av Forbes Indonesia.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA FORBES INDONESIASe alt
BACK ON TRACK
Forbes Indonesia

BACK ON TRACK

Collective wealth gets a 21% boost to a record $162 billion amid an economic uptick.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2021
Championing Locals
Forbes Indonesia

Championing Locals

The wave of social commerce is enabling inclusive digital economies beyond urban areas.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2021
Boys in the Bubble
Forbes Indonesia

Boys in the Bubble

Startups are supposed to specialize, but OPENSEA’s founders thrived by building a wide-open market for creating and trading all manner of NFTs, whether art, music or gaming. Now that they’re centimillionaires and poised to become billionaires, they have other worries: competitors, fraudsters and the next crypto crash.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2021
Enduring Relations
Forbes Indonesia

Enduring Relations

The implementation of IA-CEPA amid the pandemic signifies the Indonesia-Australia’s commitment to recover and counter future challenges together.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2021
Sweet Success
Forbes Indonesia

Sweet Success

Steven Erwin envisions Unifam to become a major global player in the confectionery and F&B industry.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2021
Marathon Man
Forbes Indonesia

Marathon Man

Across America, scores of municipal pension funds remain scandalously underfunded. But not the pension fund of Tampa’s police and firemen, thanks in large part to JAY BOWEN, whose no-frills approach to stock picking has protected and served them for more than 45 years.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2021
Gold Rallies on Inflation Fears
Forbes Indonesia

Gold Rallies on Inflation Fears

During September the price of gold rallied to $1,868 per ounce following the release of figures on US inflation by the Bureau of Labor Statistics which indicated that, as of September, CPI inflation had rocketed to 6.2%, above the 5.8% which economists had been predicting.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2021
Set Off to A New Start
Forbes Indonesia

Set Off to A New Start

Bank Aladin has two main ingredients for success: establish trust and offer better customer experiences.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2021
The Daily Intake
Forbes Indonesia

The Daily Intake

YOUVIT plans to invest further into marketing and grow into one of the leading vitamin brands in Indonesia.

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2021
THE CROESUS OF CRYPTO
Forbes Indonesia

THE CROESUS OF CRYPTO

FTX COFOUNDER SAM BANKMAN-FRIED BUILT A $22.5 BILLION FORTUNE BEFORE HIS 30TH BIRTHDAY BY PROFITING OFF THE CRYPTOCURRENCY FRENZY—BUT HE’S NOT A TRUE BELIEVER. HE JUST WANTS HIS WEALTH TO SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO GIVE IT ALL AWAY.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2021