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When Apex-Pal International chief executive Douglas Foo took a ride around Budapest on Tuesday, he noticed just a handful of affordable Japanese restaurants in the Hungarian capital.
And that, said the 38-year-old Singaporean who founded the Sakae Sushi chain here, is "good news" for his company, which is looking to open an outlet of its popular conveyor-belt sushi restaurant here in the next two to three years.
The growing potential of the central European country has also not gone unnoticed by homegrown service apartment operator Frasers Hospitality.
Its chief operating officer Bhupesh Yadav noticed a dearth in high-end extended-stay facilities, a gap he is confident of filling, in line with Frasers' aggressive expansion plans across Europe, where eight of its 19 properties are.
Both Mr Foo and Mr Yadav were part of a 32-member delegation of senior businessmen, organised by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), accompanying Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on his first official visit to Hungary this week.
On Tuesday, the delegation had the chance to mingle and network with executives of many Hungarian companies as part of the Singapore-Hungary Business Forum.
"We will build luxury apartments that can be converted into long-stay service residences. We see nothing of that nature here so far, and hotels are charging very high rates. The influx of expatriates and people setting up businesses bodes well for us," said Mr Yadav.
If all goes to plan, Frasers, the hospitality arm of Singapore-listed conglomerate Fraser and Neave, could launch its first property in Hungary within two years, after converting existing structures or building from scratch.
In the next 18 months, Mr Yadav said the company will more than double its global portfolio from 19 to 46 properties, with 6,000 units in 29 gateway cities by 2009.
Mr Foo has already touched base with a restaurateur who is operating three Japanese restaurants in Budapest.
"We have discussed a joint venture and bringing the Sakae Sushi brand to Hungary. Japanese food is beginning to gain popularity everywhere, especially in central Europe. In many markets, it's considered premium food but we will bring our product to the people at an affordable price," he said.
Listed on the Singapore Exchange since 2003, Apex-Pal's more than 60 outlets are located in countries such as Singapore, Thailand, China, the Philippines and the United States. For the first half of its financial year 2007, Apex-Pal raked in a net profit of $2.2 million on a turnover of $38.8 million.
This is the SBF's second visit to the Hungarian capital; the first was two years ago, soon after the visit of Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany to Singapore.
The feedback from Hungarian businessmen has been encouraging, said SBF chairman Stephen Lee. "Some want agents and distributors to cover Asia. Others want to attract Singapore investment in manufacturing, machine tooling, and precision equipment. Aside from the brick-and-mortar industry, we have service-oriented, hospitality and infocomm technology skills to offer them."
Admittedly, there were some concerns from the Singapore camp. "Hungary is freer than other countries in central and eastern Europe, in terms of rules and regulations. There are fewer restrictions on the foreign ownership of prime properties. But I think regional political stability is one concern. And there are questions about the long-term stability of the current open policy in terms of businesses," he said.
Trips such as these, riding on Prime Minister Lee's visit, have been useful in slashing the entry-time into the market, said Mr Yadav.
"The match-making session has been very useful — we talked directly to the people interested in our industry," he said. - TODAY/fa
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