JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and Rajawali Group, one of the largest investment companies in Indonesia, had Thursday (Nov 7) launched the groundbreaking of The St. Regis Jakarta in Indonesia’s dynamic capital.

Slated to open in 2016, the all-suite hotel brings the St. Regis brand’s enduring legacy of uncompromising luxury and sophisticated service to Jakarta, elevating the city’s ultra-luxury hospitality offerings in a mixed-use development.

Located in Jakarta’s central business district along Jalan Gatot Subroto, near Jakarta’s Sudirman Central Business District and the Mega Kuningan area, the integrated 141,000 square meter development encompasses a 124 room hotel, a premium 47-story office tower, and a special food and beverage and retail component.

This accompanies a 20-year strategic partnership that Rajawali has forged with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, following the recent success of The St. Regis Bali Resort, which has been named among the world’s best hotels by International Hotel Awards and named Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort by World Travel Awards 2011.

Adding to the hotel’s highly anticipated debut, the commercial office tower is poised to become the premium address for multi-national corporations, local conglomerates, and financial institutions, filling the void in international standard and grade-A commercial facilities. Upon completion, the office tower will be acquired by Singapore-based GIC as part of its real estate portfolio.

The Rajawali Group is one of Indonesia’s largest investors. The Group has successfully engaged across a wide range of industries, including hotel & property, agriculture, mining, infrastructure, transportation, and media.

Over the last three decades, the Group has built a solid reputation for strategic investments, including Indonesia’s first privately-owned television network Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia (RCTI), the nation’s first private mobile services operator PT XL Excelcomindo Pratama, and growing PT Express Transindo Utama into the country’s second largest taxi operator by fleet size with a business model recognized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as an effective poverty reduction program for emerging economies.

The group’s track record in value creation includes the turnaround of PT Perusahaan Rokok Tjap Bentoel and partnering the Government of Indonesia to significantly increase the shareholder value of the country’s largest cement maker PT Semen Indonesia Tbk (SMGR).

As part of the Group’s vision of a sustainable future for Indonesia and Asia, it established the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and initiated the Harvard Kennedy School Indonesia Program to enhance research and education in public policy and governance issues.