Saturday, January 14, 2012

"Raffles Hotel Singapore" - Not Singapore's



Raffles Hotel [1] on Beach Road is undoubtedly an icon. I love the place. I am sure many Singaporeans are fond of the place too.

Built in 1887, it was extensively renovated between 1989 and 1991. I must say, those involved in the restoration works did a marvellous job. The architecture of the building and its elegant interiors evoke the nostalgic ambience of a bygone era. Raffles Hotel is certainly a Singapore landmark I would be proud to boast about and to bring my foreign friends to see.

Sadly, Raffles Hotel does not belong to Singaporeans, as I only recently found out. Until 2005, the hotel was owned by Singapore-listed “Raffles Holdings”[2], a Temasek Holdings company.

In 2005, Raffles Holdings sold all of its hotel assets to US-based Colony Capital for SGD$1.72 billion. The portfolio of assets owned by Raffles Holdings consisted of 41 hotels and resorts, with its most prominent establishment being the luxurious 103-suite Raffles Hotel. (I guess I did not pick up on this news at the time it was announced.)

At the time of the acquisition, Colony Capital chief executive Thomas J. Barrack said: "We are honored to become the custodian of one of the finest hotel chains in the world and a true national treasure of the people of Singapore. We deeply respect the historical significance of the Raffles Hotel, Singapore and we consider it our responsibility to protect that legacy."[3]

In 2006, Colony Capital teamed up with a Saudi businessman to buy Fairmount Hotels and Resorts in a deal that resulted in Toronto-based Fairmount Raffles Hotel International[4] becoming the new owner of Raffles Hotel.

On 8 April 2010, The Straits Times reported that a Qatar sovereign wealth fund has bought Raffles Hotel for US$275 million (S$384 million), making it the third change of ownership in seven years.

This morning, 14 January 2012, I read in the Straits Times[5] that “Singapore’s grand old dame Raffles Hotel is finally in the hands of its new Qatari owners” - the government-owned Qatar National Hotels Company.

Though I feel a sense of loss upon reading today’s Straits Times article, the fact is, that the horse bolted out of the stable seven years ago.

Still, questions nag my mind:

  • How could parent company Temasek Holdings consider it alright to sell away “Singapore’s grand old dame”? There is only ONE Raffles Hotel and it is of historic and sentimental value to Singaporeans.
  • Did Singapore need the money badly that we had sell off our heirloom and heritage? (To my understanding, people sell off their family jewels in times of war or crisis, out of necessity, in order to survive their hard times.)
  • Have Singaporeans benefitted from the proceeds of the sale of Raffles Hotel in 2005? More hospital beds? Better care facilities for our elderly? More affordable housing for Singaporeans? Higher subsidies for education? Improvements in public transport?

I suppose it is pointless to lament the loss of Raffles Hotel. The next time I talk about Raffles Hotel to my foreign friends, I have to remind myself that Raffles Hotel does not belong to Singaporeans, so I have nothing to boast about.


5 comments:

  1. In addition to Raffles Hotel, all the three power stations were sold to foreign companies. These are national assets sold without the consent of Singaporeans.
    Why the urgency for all these funds?
    Without transparency, we can only guess that the money were gambled away in bad investments by TH.
    It looks like the chances of Singaporeans getting their CPF for their retirement is as good as me becoming Mr.Universe!

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  2. Temasek was never the sole owner of Raffles Holdings. Capitaland owns 60% of Raffles Holdings. Temasek is thus not the major shareholder of Raffles Holdings. I wonder why the learned writer chose to ignore this fact.

    WingLeeCheong: Please provide evidence that the govt has gambled our money away in bad investments. Please learn more about Temasek Holdings before you comment.

    I implore all to be more rational, objective and logical.
    What do you think of this: Can you accuse somebody of stealing and and insist he proves his own innocence?

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  3. There is no price for nostalgia. There is no limit to greed.

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  4. Sovereign wealth funds make $ by selling high and buying low. If they let emotions get in the way, their profit would be lower. Our interest, like theirs, should be highest profit, long term. Profits do not immediately get translated into hospital beds or affordable housing. Take your populism elsewhere.

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  5. It all makes sense now. I used to go to Raffles Hotel every Christmas Day afternoon to hear the Victoria Junior College current and alumni choirs carol. It was a tradition for past and present members of the choirs to gather there every year to catch up with our conductor and old friends, and enjoy the familiar music we used to sing ourselves.

    In 2008, I returned to honour this tradition once again, only to discover that non-hotel guests were barred from entering the lobby starting an hour before the performance. My family and I got in, but my husband stepped out to buy a snack for my daughter. When he returned 10 minutes later, the staff refused to let him in, even when I explained the situation and asked the floor manager if he really was going to separate a family on Christmas Day. The manager was intolerably rude, told me I could go ahead and make a complaint. He even showed me his name tag and asked me to take down his name. Meanwhile, about 50 people were gathered outside, and could only listen to the music through the one narrow open door in front of the lobby.

    I had brought my family to eat Christmas Eve dinner at the Bar and Billiard Room the previous day, and was told, to my stunned disbelief, that they did not serve eggnog, and in fact did not have the recipe for it. How could a historical hotel like the Raffles Hotel, which has played host to the likes of Joseph Conrad and Noel Coward, not serve eggnog at Christmas?

    These two experiences simply spoiled the 'Grand Dame' for me, and I have never returned for Christmas. Like many other places in Singapore, this is one more Singaporean venue that now seems as if it is not meant for Singaporeans. I did write a complaint to the management and received a very cordial apology phone call from a French gentlemen who was a Vice President of one of the hotel's departments, but even though I appreciated his efforts to smooth over the matter, the Raffles Hotel is no longer special for me.

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