William Heinecke, founder and chairman of hotel and restaurant chain operator Minor International, speaks at the Forbes Global CEO Conference held Oct 14-15, 2025 in Jakarta.
Forbes Asia
Bangkok-listed Minor International—controlled by billionaire William Heinecke—said it aims to raise $1.5 billion by listing in Singapore a hotel real estate investment trust (REIT) in the first quarter of 2026.
The IPO would help reduce the company’s debts and bankroll expansion plans as the hotel and restaurant operator taps the post-pandemic travel boom, Heinecke, 76, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Forbes Global CEO Conference held in Jakarta last week.
Minor plans to inject some hotels into the REIT as it pursues an asset light strategy, Heinecke said. “We’re transferring some of our heavy assets into a REIT and we’ll still be a major shareholder of that REIT,” said Heinecke, chairman of the company.
The company was incorporated by Heinecke (a U.S.-born and naturalized Thai citizen) in 1970 in Thailand when he was still a minor, hence the name. It has since grown to become one of Asia’s largest hotel chains, running about 600 hotels with over 90,000 rooms around the world, and made Heinecke one the wealthiest in Thailand with a real-time net worth of $1.3 billion based on Forbes’ data.
Minor owns 60% of its hotel portfolio while the rest belong to other parties. More than half of these properties are in Europe, part of Madrid-based NH Hotel Group, which Minor bought in 2018 for €2.3 billion ($2 billion at the time).
Anantara Hotel, Vienna.
Courtesy of Minor International
It aims to increase the number of hotels it is involved in to 850 by 2027 and more than 1,000 by 2030, Heinecke added. “We’re growing very rapidly,” he said. “We’re moving in a lot of the markets that we haven’t been in before.”
In August, Minor broke ground on its first project in Singapore, the 200-room Avani Hotel, which it will co-own and manage when it opens in early 2027.
Another goal is to be increasingly asset-light. Minor used to own 75% of the hotels in its portfolio but the percentage has been decreasing. Ownership should fall below 60% once some of these assets are transferred to the aimed-for REIT.
To accelerate expansion plans, Minor has been signing more management contracts with third-party hotel owners. In March, it entered a joint venture with Tokyo-listed Royal Holdings Co. to build 21 hotels across Japan within a decade. By 2030, it hopes to welcome guests at its first Japanese resort, the Anantara Karuizawa.
In India, Minor is stepping up expansion with plans to develop and manage about 50 properties within the decade. It first ventured in the world’s most populous country in 2017 with the opening of Oaks Bodhgaya in the northeast Indian state of Bihar. Last year, it opened flagship luxury brand, Anantara Jewel Bagh in Jaipur in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan.
Anantara Jewel Bagh Jaipur
Courtesy of Minor International
The company has been paring down debt. In 2024, it declined 9.7% to 93 billion baht from a year earlier. In July this year, Minor redeemed €400 million senior secured notes that were originally due in 2026. “The high interest rates and the closure of so many hotels during Covid put a lot of strain on us,” Heinecke said.
After posting a record net loss of 21.4 billion baht ($650 million) at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Minor’s earnings rebounded strongly. Its net profit rose 44% to 7.8 billion baht in 2024, bolstered by higher revenue and a decline in finance charges. The growth is driven by rising demand for luxury travel experiences, which is boosting the company’s revenue despite occupancy levels remaining flat, Heinecke said.
In an Oct. 9 note, UBS analysts said “a potential REIT could further accelerate deleveraging and enhance return on invested capital, providing a near-term re-rating catalyst.” The brokerage rated Minor’s shares a buy with a 12-month price target of 34 baht. The stock closed 0.4% down at 22.9 baht in Bangkok on Friday.