Skyports has opened a branch office in Tokyo, Japan – the first in the region outside of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.
The move follows a year of significant activity in the country, with Japanese trading conglomerate Kanematsu Corporation joining Skyports’ list of investors in the company’s Series B funding round and taking a seat on its board in March, as well as a growing portfolio of projects in Osaka and Tokyo.
Earlier in July, Skyports partnered with AirAsia to explore the development of air taxi infrastructure in Malaysia.
Tay Yun-Yuan, head of Asia-Pacific, Skyports said: “The Asia-Pacific region is an important hub for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), and Japan a leading market within it. With support from our investor Kanematsu Corporation, we have significantly matured our networks and portfolio in the country in the last year with multiple projects in progress.
“The incorporation of our Japanese office was the next logical step in strengthening our operations in the country, enabling us to work closely with the growing ecosystem of AAM players as we approach new milestones in the country.”
Atsushi Okada, Skyports’ Japan country manager, shared: “For Skyports, the focus for the next year is to progress our ongoing projects in Osaka and Tokyo through site assessments and regular engagements with the regulatory authorities as we look towards 2025 for initial deployment.”
Okada will oversee Skyports’ infrastructure and drone services operations in the country, and lead an extensive list of priorities including real estate agreements, local stakeholder engagement, regulatory approvals, airport and airspace planning, operational procedures, and enabling technology.
She was most recently director – human resources and administration for G4S Security Services (Thailand), overseeing a total headcount of 20,000 employees.
As an advocate and strong supporter of Gold Coast’s tourism industry, O’Callaghan will continue to promote the destination and the wider Queensland tourism economy in her new role.
Far East Hospitality (FEH) is planning to enter Indonesia with its Oasia and Quincy brands, with Bali, Jakarta and Surabaya as its initial target locations.
The plan is part of the strategic alliance which the Singapore-based company signed with Indonesia’s Artotel Group last year. Under the partnership both companies will collaborate across operations, cross-branding exposure and training as well supporting business growth across markets.
Speaking on the partnership at a media round-table in Jakarta recently, Arthur Kiong, CEO of FEH Management said: “Singapore and Indonesia are key inbound markets for our respective sector. As such we see strong synergies for both countries.”
To develop the business in Indonesia, Kiong said he needed Artotel’s expertise to accelerate the process.
“We don’t presume to come in here to do the job…by ourselves. Pak Erastus and his team are an ideal partner…as they understand the connection, have the network, and (speak) the language,” he explained.
On the other hand, Erastus Radjimin, founder and CEO of Artotel Group said: “We may be strong in Indonesia but we are nobody overseas, while FEH is huge. We have never run more than 50 hotels before, while they have.”
On the choice of hotels to enter Indonesia, Kiong said both hotel brands provide unique offerings in the market. He shared how Quincy was “designed for the non-conformist travellers – people who do not want to follow traditional hotel rules”, where guests have the freedom to check-in and out, and enjoy coffee tea and snacks at the lobby any time they want.
As for Oasia, Kiong said: “Indonesia has a reputation as a wellness destination and natural attractions (so) we want to bring our brand here. We want to be here to bring yet another differentiator (to the existing variety of wellness products) with a practical or very pragmatic delivery of wellness.”
Meanwhile, Artotel Group is aiming to flag its brand in the region while providing a platform for Indonesian talents to gain international experience and exposure through the collaboration with FEH.
Erastus said: “(With FEH assistance), we want to export our brands to Singapore as well as Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam – destinations where FEH has set to grow its business into.”