The Hindu Business Line : Indian Hotels arm Roots Corp plans IPO

(From right) Mr R.K. Krishna Kumar, Chairman, Oriental Hotels, Mr D.P.S. Reddy, Managing Director, and Mr D.S. Reddy, Vice-Chairman, after the annual general meeting in Chennai on Monday. - Shaju John

Chennai , July 26

ROOTS Corporation, a subsidiary of Indian Hotels Company Ltd, is likely to go for an initial public offering (IPO), as the chain of budget hotel grows, Mr R.K. Krishna Kumar, Chairman, Indian Hotels Company, said.

Though he did not specify any time frame for the IPO, he said, it would go through when required.

The company plans to put up hotels in important mini metros all over the country, he told Business Line here today. Tamil Nadu will see hotels in places such as Madurai, Tiruchi and Salem. At present there is no organised player in this segment. However, with the increase in domestic tourism and corporate travel, this segment is expected to grow rapidly. The Taj brand would stick to the luxury path, he said.

Earlier, at the annual general meeting of Oriental Hotels Ltd (OHL), an associate company of Indian Hotels Company Ltd, Mr Krishna Kumar said that OHL had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Information Technology Park Ltd, to set up a 200-room business class hotel in Bangalore. The investment in this project was Rs 75 crore. The company planned to expand rapidly to add "more to its top and bottomline,'' he said.

Mr Krishna Kumar said that 2003-04 saw a significant growth in corporate travel as new ventures were set up and an increase in business process outsourcing and back office operations. The other areas, which could be explored, were cultural and medical tourism, he said.

As a show of respect for the victims for the Kumbakonam fire tragedy, Mr Krishna Kumar said that the Taj Group planned to reinforce the midday meal scheme in schools.

As this would also coincide with the death centenary of Jamshedji Tata and the birth centenaries J.R.D Tata and Naval Tata, the group has earmarked Rs 80 crore to Rs 90 crore for welfare schemes, he said.

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