HOTELS & RESORTS

BANYAN TREE PLANTS ITS FLAG IN THE DESERTS OF DUNHUANG, CHINA
Singapore Main-Board listed Banyan Tree Holdings Limited ("Banyan Tree" or the "Group"), a leading developer, designer and operator of top-tier hotels, resorts, spas and retail galleries worldwide, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dunhuang Government to develop and operate a resort at Dunhuang county, in the northwestern province of Gansu in China.
Banyan Tree Dunhuang will span more than 31 hectares, and is the latest addition to the Group's growing portfolio of fifteen resorts and city hotels across China, which includes the award winning Banyan Tree Lijiang and Banyan Tree Ringha resorts in Yunnan province. "We are very excited about Dunhuang, the site will allow us to bring the romance of travel to new heights for our guests, and is in line with our ethos of creating new and meaningful experiences wherever we go," said Executive Chairman, Mr. Ho Kwon Ping.
Famous for its endless sand dunes and beautiful desert scenery, Dunhuang was hitherto a stop for merchants travelling along the Silk Road. Since China opened to the west, Dunhuang has become must-see historical and cultural destination for tourists from around the world. The area is renown among Buddhist scholars for the spectacular Mogao Grottoes, a series of fantastical caverns featuring amazing 6th century Buddhist frescoes. These are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The initial phase of the development will comprise a Banyan Tree resort and an Angsana resort. Later phases will see the addition of up to three more resorts. The Group will also tap into the site's spectacular sand dune features to create unique dining and recreational guest experiences for guests. Both the architectural and interior design aspects of the development will be undertaken by the Group's in-house architectural division, Architrave Design and Planning.
The development is slated for completion in 2011.These new developments are not expected to have any material financialimpact on the Group's earnings and its net tangible assets for 2008.