Raffles International Enters Into Cooperative Marketing Alliance With Blue Tree Hotels & Resorts of Brazil

Under the alliance, both Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts and Blue Tree will develop reciprocal and joint marketing activities. These include joint participation in trade shows, sales events, culinary promotions and niche marketing programmes.

The geographical distribution of hotels under both Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts and Blue Tree Hotels & Resorts is complementary. Blue Tree Hotels & Resorts is a Brazilian hotel chain with 21 properties in the most prominent cities across the country, including hotels in Brasilia, beach resorts in the northeast and large convention hotels in Sao Paulo. Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts is able to leverage on Blue Tree Hotels & Resorts' strong client network in South America to bring inbound traffic into its hotels, particularly to Swissôtel in New York City, Chicago and Atlanta and in Lima and Quito in South America. Blue Tree Hotels & Resorts on the other hand, can tap major feeder markets through Swissôtel's presence in key cities in North America, Europe and Asia including New York, Chicago, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Singapore, and Beijing.

Mr Meinhard Huck, Managing Director of Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, said, "The marketing synergies that can be derived from this alliance are substantial. The combined network of both Blue Tree and Swissôtel will allow us to strengthen our position in markets that would otherwise have been costly for either company to venture in on its own."

Added Ms Jennie Chua, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Raffles International, "Through the two hotels we have in South America, Swissôtel Quito and Swissôtel Lima, the Swissôtel brand is known in some parts of the continent. However, given the geographical size of South America, this alliance is valuable in enhancing the brand's reach especially in Brazil which is the largest country and an important one in South America."

Mrs. Chieko Aoki, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Tree Hotels, added, "The increased exposure for our sales force when attending global trade shows will be an exceptional opportunity to attract the clients who may already be familiar with the Swissôtel or Raffles brand, but unaware of ours. At the same time, we believe that Blue Tree's established reputation of high quality in service and presence in South America, especially in Brazil, will be a positive advantage for Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts to strengthen its presence in this growing market. This alliance will make it possible to build a global network and offer greater convenience and benefits for our existing customer base."

About Blue Tree Hotels

Blue Tree is a Brazilian hotel chain with 21 properties in the most prominent cities in the country, including in this portfolio, beautiful beach resorts in the sunny Northeast and large convention hotels in the busy Sao Paulo. Today the company employs 4,000 people, offers 5,100 rooms and has a mission to be the most respected hotel chain in Brazil. Our focus is in exceeding the expectations of our guests. "Innovation differentiates Blue Tree from other hotels and I will always pursue new ideas that do not incur additional operational costs - such as well trained guest relations services, with total understanding of our guests needs." - says Chieko Aoki, well known and respected hotelier in Brazil, for more than 25 years.

About Raffles Holdings and Raffles International Limited - (www.rafflesholdings.com and ) Raffles Holdings Limited is a hospitality company listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited. It is headquartered in Singapore and has an approximate 12,000-room portfolio comprising hotels and resorts in 34 destinations across Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.

Raffles International Limited is the hotel management arm of Raffles Holdings Limited. Formed in 1989, Raffles International Limited is a name well respected in the industry for its standards of quality, award-winning concepts and innovative approach towards hotel management. Raffles International markets its hotels and resorts under two brands -- Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts. The Company manages 38 hotels in 34 destinations worldwide.

Raffles Hotels & Resorts (www.raffles.com) is a collection of 12 luxury hotels located in major cities around the globe and distinguishes itself by the highest standards of products and services. Each hotel is a landmark in its respective city and most are positioned at the top of their local markets. The collection of award-winning hotels includes Raffles Hotel and Raffles The Plaza in Singapore, Raffles L'Ermitage Beverly Hills in the US, Raffles Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Hamburg and Le Montreux Palace, Montreux.

Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts (www.swissotel.com) is a distinctive group of deluxe hotels for today's discerning modern business and leisure traveller. It combines individual, modern and functional design with local character and renowned standards of Swiss hospitality, service efficiency and product quality. Located in gateway destinations and city centres, the hotels offer convenient access to business and shopping districts and local attractions. Many of the hotels have also won awards and accolades including Swissôtel Merchant Court Singapore, Swissôtel The Bosphorus Istanbul, Swissôtel The Drake New York and Swissôtel Berlin Am Kurfurstendamm. Swissôtel Hotel & Resorts has a portfolio of 26 hotels worldwide.

About CapitaLand ( ) - Raffles Holdings is a subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, which is listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.

CapitaLand is one of the largest listed property companies in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, the multi-national company has property and property-related services focused in select gateway cities in China, Australia and the UK. The company's hospitality businesses, in hotels and serviced residences, span more than 50 cities around the world.

Its business interests cover commercial and industrial buildings, residential properties, property funds, real estate financials and property services, besides hotels and serviced residences. CapitaLand also leverages on its significant real estate asset base and market knowledge to develop fee-based products and services.