Chaswood Penetrates Thailand with Popular Chinese Casual Dining Chain - First Paradise Dynasty in Thailand to Open in Siam Paragon
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NEWS RELEASE Chaswood penetrates Thailand with popular Chinese Casual Dining Chain - First Paradise Dynasty in Thailand to open in Siam Paragon - SINGAPORE, 14 September 2012 – SGX Catalist-listed, Chaswood Resources Holdings Ltd. (“Chaswood” or the “Group”), a multi-concept casual dining operator, today announced its foray into Thailand with the opening of “Paradise Dynasty”, its first franchised and flagship Chinese Casual Dining restaurant at Siam Paragon in Bangkok, renowned as one of the biggest shopping centres in South East Asia. On 13 September 2012, the Group secured the master franchise with Paradise Group Holdings Pte Ltd (“Franchisor”) for the exclusive right to develop and operate Paradise Dynasty restaurants in Thailand. Through the terms of agreement, Chaswood will have first right to operate the Franchisor’s other casual dining concepts in Thailand and is targeting to develop at least 4 Paradise outlets by 2016. Paradise Dynasty is well-known for pushing the envelope on culinary creativity and innovation in Chinese cuisine. Its house specialties – Shanghainese dim sum, silky handmade la mian ( hand-pulled noodles ) in signature pork bone soup and tantalizing “xiao long bao” or steamed soup dumpling in 8 flavours – original, black truffle, foie gras, garlic, ginseng, cheese, Szechuan and crab roe have become regular indulgences of discerning patrons and Chinese food aficionados since the opening of its flagship outlet at ION Orchard in September 2010. “The success and popularity of Paradise Dynasty has been phenomenal in Singapore and Indonesia. We have every confidence the brand will do well in Thailand judging from the active consumerism amongst its booming middle class. Our target market as a leading chain restaurant operator has always been mid-income earners in high traffic inner city and suburban malls. Siam Paragon with its central location and stable of well-established specialty stores and world class entertainment is an ideal location for our first Paradise Dynasty outlet,” said Andrew Reddy, Managing Director of Chaswood. Eldwin Chua, Chief Executive Officer of Paradise Group, Singapore said : “Paradise Dynasty has been a runaway success for us and we are psyched to expand to yet another country in South East Asia. I believe we have picked the right partner in furthering the popularity of the brand in the region. Chaswood has a solid reputation for not only growing franchises but also enhancing brand value with their many years of restaurant management experience and expertise.” With Asiasons Capital Ltd’s involvement as primary investor and majority shareholder in the Group, Chaswood has been propelled and driven to expand regionally in a measured but rapid manner. "We are all very excited with this new development at Chaswood. Paradise Dynasty is an exciting Chinese F&B concept and we look forward to growing this brand in Thailand in line with our long-term growth plans for Chaswood to be the No. 1 multi-concept casual dining restaurant operator in South East Asia,” remarked Datuk Jared Lim, Co-Founder and Joint Managing Director of Asiasons. About Chaswood Group Chaswood Resources Holdings Ltd. is listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX”) Catalist Board and resumed trading on 21 March 2012, following the successful completion of a reverse takeover exercise involving, amongst others, Asia Silk Holdings Limited’s acquisition of Chaswood Resources Sdn. Bhd. and its subsidiaries. The Group is one of the leading multi-concept casual dining operators in Malaysia and Singapore with 12 brands as of September 2012 including 4 international franchised and licensed brands and 50 restaurants, cafes and bars, including the recently opened Paradise Dynasty restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand Chaswood holds the exclusive rights to develop and operate American casual dining chain, T.G.I. Friday’s in Malaysia and Singapore; Japanese casual dining chain, Watami in Malaysia; and Korean BBQ casual dining chain, Bulgogi Brothers in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. On 13 September 2012, the Group entered into a master franchise agreement with Paradise Group Holdings Pte Ltd for the exclusive right to develop and operate Paradise Dynasty restaurants in Thailand. It also owns and operates some of Malaysia’s leading food establishments, namely Italiannies, The Apartment Restaurant & Bar, Bedroom, Teh Tarik Place, Baci Italian Café, Republic, Malones Irish Restaurant & Bar and Laundry Bar. Led by industry veteran, Mr Andrew Reddy, the Group targets to be one of the leading multi- concept casual dining operators in South East Asia by 2015. About Asiasons Capital Group Asiasons Capital Group is an Alternative Asset Investment and Management Group focused on opportunities in Emerging East Asia. The Group is listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Singapore and has a market capitalization of about US$500 million as at the end of Aug 2012. Asiasons Group through Posh Corridor Sdn. Bhd., has a shareholding interest of approximately 62.4% in the share capital of Chaswood Resources Holdings Ltd. The investment strategy of Asiasons is geographically focused in Emerging East Asia, mainly South East Asia and Greater China while the sector focus is in Consumer and Resources. This strategy has been formulated based on the demographics trends in Emerging East Asia namely increased consumer spending and urban migration in one of the most populous and youngest populations in the world. Asiasons has a unique hands-on value creation proposition combining traditional Brick and Mortar strategies with Design and New Economy strategies via its in-house multi award winning Creative team. These value added competencies together with the group’s regional footprint allows Asiasons to successfully expand its portfolio companies throughout the Asian region. Further information is available at http://www.asiasons.com. About Paradise Group Holdings Pte Ltd Paradise Group Holdings Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based restaurant group incorporated in 2008 by two directors; Mr Eldwin Chua who is the Chief Executive Officer and his brother, Mr Edlan Chua, who is the Chief Operating Officer. Since its first Seafood Paradise outlet in 2002, Paradise Group has built a food and beverage empire of eight brands in Singapore and Asia. To date, the brands include Taste Paradise, Paradise Pavilion, Seafood Paradise, Paradise Dynasty, Paradise Inn, Canton Paradise, Kung Fu Paradise and One Paradise (catering). The award-winning company currently manages over 1,000 staffs and operates over 30 restaurants in Singapore, including 10 overseas ventures in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and China (late 2012). It is exploring joint ventures and franchises in countries like Japan, Vietnam and Australia. For more information, visit www.paradisegroup.com.sg. For media enquiries, please contact :- Irene Yeoh / Lennie Ong RAPR Mileage Communication Sdn Bhd Tel: 603 2282 2333 [email protected] / [email protected] This press release has been prepared by the Company and its contents have been reviewed by the Company’s sponsor, CIMB Bank Berhad, Singapore Branch (the “ Sponsor ”) for compliance with the relevant rules of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the “ SGX-ST ”). The Sponsor has not independently verified the contents of this press release. This press release has not been examined or approved by the SGX-ST and the SGX-ST and Sponsor assume no responsibility for the contents of this press release, including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made or reports contained in this press release. The contact person for the Sponsor is Mr Eric Wong (Director, Corporate Finance), CIMB Bank Berhad, Singapore Branch, 50 Raffles Place #09-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623, telephone (65) 6337 5115. .