Modern Columbuses - Slovaks from J&T Conquering the Caribbean

Slovaks, too, want to create their own paradise. By investing in the Caribbean, the first integral hotel complex is to be constructed, boasting the top level standard of five stars. “Joining this project fits into the strategy of building a network of luxurious hotels by the J&T group; it will be connected to the development of other activities and the offer of complex services in the field of luxury tourism,” Peter Korbačka, J&T partner and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the joint stock company J&T REAL ESTATE explained. “In the nearest future J&T wants to continue to be an active investor in unique assets such as luxurious hotels, even through partnerships. For the future we can imagine creating one strong company owning the assets and we are planning to place it on the public capital market through IPO”. The luxurious hotel resort with wide-ranging services along with a top quality golf course are going to be built on the island of Salt Cay. On the total area of more than 320 hectares there will be 130 luxurious apartments, each of them in a small independent villa; 75 luxurious private residence will also be built. Guests will have a choice of 5 restaurants, two sport centres, a luxurious spa, and a marina for 80 yachts. The cost of building the complex is estimated to exceed 600 mil. USD. The resort will be operated by some of the most prestigious world hotel chains. With regard to local legislation, the owner of the land covering almost the entire island on which the resort will be built remains Mario Hoff man and the companies controlled by him; consequently, he will have the right to a part of the project revenues. “This business allows me to maintain my relationship to this island which I have grown very fond of over the years, and at the same time to support retail banking which remains my core business; I can also think about entering other detail financial services’, Mario Hoffman, the majority owner and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ISTROKAPITAL SE said. “A part of the revenue amounting to 1.5 billion USD can be used to strengthen the position of the ISTROKAPITAL group in the Postal Bank (Poštová banka) and to further ensure its planned development and expansion,” he added. The resort is going to be developed on the Salt Cay Island which is one of more than 40 islands of the Turks and Caicos Islands territory in the Caribbean. Turks and Caicos Islands are part of British Overseas Territory with certain features of independence such as Constitution, and Government consisting of seven members. More at www.tcimall.tc J&T is one of the most active investors on the area of Slovakia and the Czech Republic and with investment projects in almost dozen European countries. The group is a leader in the development of luxurious hotels within the Slovak and Czech Republics with the target of development in the Central and Eastern Europe and in some special areas all over the world. At present J&T are building two hotels of 5* standard in Slovakia and a hotel of 5* plus in Prague. Before completion there is an acquisition of an exclusive hotel in Moscow. Other two hotels of 5* standard will be added before 2011 by the reconstruction of two Grandhotels in the High Tatras. In addition to this J&T manages several hotels of 3 a 4* standard. In addition to real estate developing business and private banking J&T concentrates in particular on long-term investments into the Czech and Slovak industrial enterprises, it is active in health care, foodstuff industry and media. As at 31.12.2006 the assets of the group J&T reached the value of 88.88 billion crowns. Last year the group had the profits of 2.95 billion Sk. The group has more than 12,000 employees. More at www.jtfg.com A success in business and the wedding of the zdar Patrik Tkac (34), one of the founding members of the financial group J&T has made a decisive step in his life: on Saturday 16 February 2008 he said his marriage vows to his bride Iveta Vancova (25) in The Church of the Holy Trinity in Bratislava. With more than 200 guests in participation, the wedding procession brought about an extraordinary commotion: in the centre of the town one of the richest people in Slovakia had a tent with refreshments and music put up. After the ceremony, the wedding guests moved to the Crown Plaza Hotel that belongs to the J&T fleet, too. By SK Magazine Photo: J&T

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