The paid-up equity capital of Taj Kerala Hotels & Resorts has trebled to Rs 50 crore from Rs 16.5 crore.
The resort is a 67:33 joint venture between Indian Hotels and the Kerala government. The Kerala government stake is held by Tourism Kerala Resorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation.
Explaining the rationale behind the move, senior Taj group officials said, "The infusion was done to reduce the accumulated losses in the joint venture with both partners pumping in equity in proportion to their holdings. We expect the company to achieve break-even this year." The officials refused to divulge figures relating to accumulated losses.
Taj Kerala Hotels and Resorts has reported a turnover of around Rs 23 crore in 2001-02.
The Taj group has 6 properties in Kerala. Of which, Taj Kerala Hotels has four. A senior KTDC official said," We will be setting up a fifth property, a beach resort at Bekel, Kerala. " However, the official did not divulge figures relating to investment as the plan is at a preliminary stage.
The Taj group entered Kerala in 1986 by setting up the Taj Malabar. Taj Malabar is held through Oriental Hotels. The second property of the group was Taj Residency, Calicut which is directly owned by Indian Hotels.
As per the arrangement between both the partners, Taj Kerala Hotels will be going public, which will eventually see Indian Hotels and its associates reducing their holding to 40 per cent and KTDC diluting its stake to 20 per cent. The balance 40 per cent stake will be with the public. The Taj official said no time frame set for tapping the market.
