Portman Holdings Expands Internationally With Major Deals and Executives

Portman Holdings Expands Internationally With Major Deals and Executives

October 11, 2006

Company Projects Span Fast-Growth Far East

    ATLANTA, Oct. 11 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Officials of
Portman Holdings today announced that it is well along on
developments in China, India and Korea in tandem with its
U.S. activities, and is in discussions about future
projects in the Middle East.  Separately, the company said
that, in support of its stepped up global development
efforts, it has added three senior officers to its
management team and opened a new office in India, to join
the existing offices in Atlanta and Shanghai.
 
    Development Update
    
    * China -- Portman Holdings announced the formation of
a joint-venture to 
      develop Jian Ye Li, a 458,000 square-foot mixed-use,
luxury project 
      comprised of high-end residential, serviced
apartments, retail and 
      parking in a historically protected neighborhood in
the Xuhui District 
      of Shanghai at a cost of $105 million, with an
opening expected in the 
      first quarter of 2009.  In addition, the company is
in the early phases 
      of a number of other projects in China.

    * India -- The company has finalized a $150 million
venture called Sansara 
      to develop a portfolio of luxury serviced-apartments
in major cities 
      throughout India.  Site acquisition, design of a
prototype, selection of 
      an operator and assembly of a dedicated team based in
Mumbai are 
      proceeding on schedule.

    * Korea -- Portman Holdings has executed a project
development agreement 
      as a first step in the potential development of
approximately 1,500 
      acres of reclaimed land from the Yellow Sea in
Incheon, Korea.  The 
      company is lead developer of a consortium of Korean
partners that is 
      master-planning as much as 60 million to 70 million
square feet of space 
      with the first phase to include a 151-story
mixed-used Incheon Tower, 
      comprised of hotel, office, retail, and housing
components.  When 
      completed, it will be the tallest building in
Northeast Asia.

    Key Executive Additions

    The three new senior officers recently added to the
company's management team are Alex Chui, W. Dean Wilkerson
and Martin Taxson:

    * Alex Chui, Managing Director - China -- Based in
Shanghai, he will be 
      responsible for Portman's real estate activities in
China.  This 
      includes overall responsibility for the
implementation of Jian Ye Li, as 
      well as identifying and executing other transactions
in major markets 
      throughout China.  "Alex has a broad development
background that 
      includes mixed-use, retail, hospitality, industrial
and high-end 
      residential," said Thomas Arasi, president of
Portman Holdings.  "We 
      have a long track record in China, having developed
the renowned 
      Shanghai Centre mixed-use property, which consists of
luxury apartments, 
      office, retail, and the Portman Ritz-Carlton hotel. 
Furthermore, John 
      Portman and Associates has designed some of the
country's most 
      exceptional luxury hotels, including the Portman
Ritz-Carlton, The 
      Westin Shanghai at Bund Centre and J.W. Marriott at
Tomorrow Square in 
      Shanghai, as well as the Park Hyatt at Beijing Yintai
Centre and other 
      projects in Jinan and Hangzhou."  

          Prior to joining Portman, Chui had a long and
successful career as 
      director and general manager at Sun Hung Kai
Properties (SHKP) in China, 
      where he reported directly to Walter Kwok, chairman
of SHKP.  Chui's 
      primary responsibilities included actively sourcing
and developing new 
      investments for SHKP, ranging from residential to
multi-use complexes, 
      as well as acquiring and redeveloping distressed
assets.

    * W. Dean Wilkerson, Senior Vice President of
Construction -- Based in 
      Atlanta, he will have project management
responsibility for many of the 
      company's international projects.  "Dean has
more than 30 years of 
      experience and adds great depth to our team in
project-oversight," said 
      Warren Snipes, executive vice president of Portman
Holdings. 
      "Functionally, he will provide centralized
oversight and accountability 
      for Portman's overseas project management activities
and regional and 
      on-site project directors.  Previously, he was
project director for HDC 
      International, where he provided total program
management for the design 
      and construction of a $227 million hotel and
convention center in 
      Schaumburg, Ill., outside Chicago."

    * Martin Taxson, Senior Project Director --
Headquartered in the company's 
      Shanghai office, Taxson will be the Asia regional
project director with 
      overall responsibility for various projects in Asia,
including Jian Ye 
      Li.  In this role, he will act as a liaison with
on-site project 
      managers and provide business development support. 
"Marty has 
      tremendous international experience, including the
Middle East, Russia 
      and the Caribbean," Snipes said.  "He knows
all aspects of construction 
      and has hands-on experience with hundreds of projects
in the 
      hospitality, office and government segments."  
     
          With a career spanning nearly four decades,
Taxson most recently 
      served as project director of the newest and most
prestigious timeshare 
      complex on Aruba, with overall development
responsibility for the 450-
      unit villa development owned by Marriott Vacation
Club International.  

    "There are tremendous opportunities in development
in the Far East due to the phenomenal economic growth taking
place in countries such as China and India, and there is
also growing interest in the Middle East," Arasi said.
"With these additional 'boots on the ground,' Portman
is well positioned to source a pipeline of attractive,
large-scale deals and deploy the expertise to capitalize on
opportunities." 

    About Portman Holdings

    Headquartered in Atlanta with international offices in
Shanghai, China and Mumbai, India, Portman Holdings has
developed some of the world's premier real estate assets,
including Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, Marina
Square in Singapore, the New York Marriott Marquis in Times
Square, the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles, Peachtree
Center in Atlanta, Shanghai Centre in China, the Brussels
Trade Mart in Belgium, and the Westin Charlotte in North
Carolina -- developments with an estimated collective value
of more than $7 billion in today's market.  Portman Holdings
is the development division of the Portman companies, a real
estate owner, developer and architectural firm, founded in
1953.  Its other divisions include AmericasMart, the
largest wholesale market of its kind in the world with 4.2
million square feet of exhibit space; and John Portman and
Associates, one of the world's most prestigious
architectural firms.  Additional information about the
company may be found on the division's web site,
http://www.portmanholdings.com .

    For more information, please contact:

     Chris Daly
     Daly Gray Public Relations
     Tel:    [phone]

SOURCE  Portman Holdings