Manila Pen owners to spend P0.5B for repair of damaged hotel

MANILA, Philippines- The owners of the Manila Peninsula Hotel will be spending nearly half a billion pesos to repair and renovate hotel facilities damaged during a stand off between military rebels and government forces last November 2007. The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Ltd., the holding company of the Manila Peninsula Hotel, will spend P464 million for the a complete face-lift of the hotel, particularly areas that were destroyed during the face off between rebel soldiers led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, and the Philippine military. The money will go to modernizing the hotel's upper and lower lobbies, some function rooms and 249 guests rooms that were also damaged during the encounter. The proposed modernization plan has been granted fiscal incentives by the Board of Investments (BOI) that would include income tax holidays for four years up to six years. Right now, repairs and improvements are on-going, and the firm expects to finish the works in October 2008. The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotel operates major subsidiaries in major cities in the United States and Asia. It is engaged in the ownership and management of prestigious hotels including commercial and residential properties. - GMANews.TV