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A New Lap of Luxury

With tickets to the 2008 Olympic Games selling briskly, it is clear that Beijing is going to experience an influx of foreigners next summer like never seen before.

Many are going to stay a while and live in high style, some on lavish corporate expense accounts, which means finding luxury living space is not going to be easy, especially in the centre of the city.

So the upscale international traveller and new expatriate arrivals in Beijing may be the first to benefit from Shama, a new “boutique” serviced apartment complex that will open just inside the Second Ring Road on Chang’an Jie in January 2008.

With the exception of fixed tenants, workers for multinational companies and their families form the demand for serviced apartments in Beijing. Some serviced apartments, hoping to benefit from the Olympic economy, have already increased their rental fees for the Games; many are booked up. As a consequence, the average rental of serviced apartment this quarter increased to 174 yuan per month per square metre, an increase of 3.7 percent. The vacancy rate fell to 5.7 percent from 19.2 percent, according to a report by DTZ, a professional real estate advisory and consultancy firm.

The demand for leasing apartments is only expected to increase as many predict that supply from this quarter leading up to the start of the Olympic Games will rapidly decrease leaving the market during the period of the Olympic Games “tense,” to say the least. Following this trend, some tenants are renewing their leases in advance.

Enter Shama, one of Asia’s leading providers of luxury boutique serviced apartments. The Shama philosophy is to provide gracious service and stylish accommodation in prime locations for its residents, with a personal introduction to the city upon arrival that fast tracks that all important feeling of being at home.

“We aim to create luxurious and stylish living environments where residents can feel truly at home,” said Elaine Young, Shama’s CEO.

Shama launched its first Chinese mainland property in 2007 in Shanghai’s fashionable Xintiandi. Now the portfolio’s flagship property with 100 apartments, and first in the Shama Luxe category, it is the first of the brand’s planned expansion into China and beyond.

Shama’s vision is to expand throughout the Chinese mainland to second-tier mainland cities. 2008 will see Shama open its eighth property in Hong Kong at Fortress Hill, its second property in Shanghai, as well as properties in two new locations: Beijing and Dalian.

The Chang’an Jie location is a prime one, next to one of Beijing's most popular shopping districts and conveniently close to the city's CBD. Shama Luxe Chang An serviced apartments cater to those who prefer opulent lifestyles as well as an oasis of tranquillity in a booming city, with its large private garden, which is the meaning of the Indian word “Shama.”