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Agencies

A Chinese insurance company has bought Hilton's landmark New York luxury hotel the Waldorf Astoria for US$1.95 billion, the US hotel giant said yesterday.
Anbang Insurance Group had agreed "to restore the property to its historic grandeur" and would allow Hilton to manage the property for the next 100 years, Hilton Worldwide Holdings said.
The Waldorf Astoria New York, the grand Art Deco hotel on Park Avenue that occupies a full city block in midtown Manhattan, has been in business for more than a century.
The glamorous hotel has been a magnet for US, Chinese and other world leaders as well as celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, who lived in a US$1,000-per-week suite, and top entertainers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin stayed there in 1997 as did his successor, Hu Jintao, in 2005 and 2009.
The hotel's Towers presidential suite, which ranges from 1,600 to 2,000 square feet, now costs about US$1,609 per night for a single occupant, according to its website.
In 1993, the hotel was declared an official New York landmark, joining the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Conrad Hilton, Hilton Worldwide's founder, who bought the management rights to the hotel in 1949, called it "the greatest of them all".
"We are very excited to be entering into this long-term relationship with Anbang, which will ensure that the Waldorf Astoria New York represents the brand's world-class standards for generations to come," said Christopher Nassetta, president and chief executive of Hilton Worldwide.
Anbang is based in Beijing and has more than 30,000 employees.
The insurer also owns Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank and Anbang Asset Management Company.
It manages about 700 billion yuan (HK$883 billion) worth of assets, according to its website.
The New York hotel is the flagship of Hilton's luxury brand Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, launched in 2006, which now spans 27 destinations, including Beijing, Shanghai, Amsterdam and Dubai.
Nine additional Waldorf Astoria hotels were planned, in destinations such as Bali, Bangkok and Beverly Hills, the company said.
The sale of the Waldorf Astoria comes a year after a Chinese investment firm bought another New York landmark property, One Chase Manhattan Plaza.
Fosun International, controlled by billionaire Guo Guangchang, paid US$725 million for the property, which was formerly the headquarters of Chase Manhattan Bank.
Agence France-Presse, Reuters


Chinese firm buys New York's famed Waldorf Astoria hotel for US$1.95b

Hilton Worldwide will sell the Waldorf to the Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group for US$1.95 billion. Photo: AFP

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Insurance company buys New York's landmark hotel for US$1.95 billion


A Chinese insurance company has bought Hilton's landmark New York luxury hotel the Waldorf Astoria for US$1.95 billion, the US hotel giant said yesterday.
