INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP (IHG) now has so many hotels in China it plans to treat the country as a stand-alone region in its own right.
With 115 properties on stream and another 127 in the pipeline, Greater China is to be separated from IHG's Asia/Pacific region to "generate enduring cost savings".
Greater China will become a separate IHG business unit, headquartered in Shanghai, while the rest of Asia - southern Asia, Japan, Korea and the Pacific - will be overseen from Singapore. IHG chief executive Andy Cosslett said: "Asia remains a key long-term growth driver for IHG. This restructuring will ensure we maintain our leadership position."