New Hotel ICON Celebrates Hong Kong’s Creative Excellence

Iconic Hotel Stands for Design and Service Excellence for an Experience Unlike Any Other

HONG KONG, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — Hotel ICON, an upscale Hong Kong hotel in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui East, announced its soft opening. Offering exceptional Asian hospitality, Hotel ICON represents the combined efforts of Hong Kong’s most creative talents.

(Photo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2011/06/14/20110614880917.html )

With 262 guest rooms ranging in size from 36 to 80m2, Hotel ICON will rank among Hong Kong’s most symbolic landmarks. Standing as a stylish testament to Hong Kong’s creative energy and vibrant arts scene, Hotel ICON showcases work from the city’s celebrated designers and visionaries.

Rocco Yim of the Hong Kong-based Rocco Design Architects Ltd oversaw the hotel’s architectural design. William Lim, Managing Director of Hong Kong’s CL3 Architects, designed the contemporary interiors, including the guestrooms, the Silverbox ballroom and the lobby’s grand sweeping staircase.

Fusing innovative design and classic style, Lim’s goal was to create spaces of ultimate comfort. “Comfort is always my priority when designing guestrooms,” explains Mr. Lim. “We wanted to create a sense of richness and elegance, then let the spectacular views complete the story.”

Fashion doyenne Vivienne Tam also contributed to the project. A graduate of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Tam designed ICON’s exclusive VT Suite, which reflects the artist’s signature look of unforced elegance and chic simplicity.

Hotel ICON’s commitment to local creativity and innovation extends to the staff uniforms. Award-winning Hong Kong designer Barney Cheng fashioned the stylishly clean-cut outfits.

Tommy Li, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent graphic designers, created Hotel ICON’s eye-catching logo. Fluid and evolving, the logo signifies the hotel’s central location as well as its outreach and commitment to the community.

The confluence of art and design is also evident in the artwork. Renowned Hong Kong designer Freeman Lau curated the hotel’s eclectic collection. Hotel ICON currently houses works of art by some of Asia’s best talents, including Cheung Yee, Kan Tai-Keung, Nancy Chu Woo, Hung Keung, Pauline Lam, William Furniss, John Fung, Chow Chun Fai, Tsang Chui Mei and Terence Lee.

“I wanted to give a comprehensive picture of the creative industry here in Hong Kong,” says Mr. Lau. “The aim is to show a diverse group of art works so that guests can get a taste of the different elements in the creative sector.”

As well as highlighting Hong Kong’s most in-demand artists, Hotel ICON also features the iconic work of international designers, including Conran & Partners and Patrick Blanc.

Conran & Partners designed Hotel ICON’s restaurants, including ‘Above & Beyond’, the sleek-and-chic private members’ facility on Level 28, and The Market, an open-plan restaurant offering a tempting selection of pan-Asian and Western favourites.

French botanist and artist Patrick Blanc created and installed the lavish 18-meter vertical garden in the Hotel ICON lobby. Measuring 230m2, the verdant garden wall is the largest of its kind in Asia.

Exceptional Eateries

Hotel ICON houses three restaurants: Above & Beyond Chineserestaurant, The Market and GREEN. Located on the top floor of the hotel and featuring panoramic views of Victoria Harbour, Above & Beyond provides gourmet lovers with traditional dim sum and the best of seasonal Cantonese cuisine.

Designed by Conran & Partners, Above & Beyond evokes the mood of a private club. Hand-picked books and eclectic Asian artifacts line the library shelves, creating an intimate, relaxed space while the spectacular floor-to-ceiling views add to the allure. Three ultra-stylish private dining rooms, one with a functioning kitchen, are also available for guests to invite a private chef to serve customised meals.

The Market on the second floor adds extra spice with a dash of variety. Inspired by the Hong Kong’s iconic wet-markets, The Market offers a wide range of top-quality Asian and international delicacies. A foodie haven, the market-style eatery features open kitchens and a buzzy, vibrant atmosphere. The restaurant accommodates up to 160 diners and includes an open-air garden terrace for those who prefer al fresco dining.

GREEN, situated on the lobby level, provides guests with a neighbourhood cafe by day and tapas bar by night. GREEN is the perfect venue to casually meet, unwind or simply enjoy great comfort food in an elegant setting.

Uncompromising Levels of Comfort

Offering the ultimate in comfort, Hotel ICON guestrooms comprise seductive extras, Vogue-worthy interiors and thoughtful surprises. Standard features include a complimentary mini-bar, iPhone/iPod docking station, complimentary wired and Wi-Fi internet connections and an ultra-slim 40″ Ultra High Definition LED TV.

Hotel ICON’s Angsana Spa is a tranquil oasis devoted to indulgence and pampering. Within this private retreat, professional therapists from the world-famous Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts

offer a range of relaxing and rejuvenating treatments.

Located on Level 9, the harbor-facing outdoor swimming pool, gym and fitness centre allow guests to exercise while enjoying the spectacular view of the city.

Hotel ICON’s grand Silverbox ballroom is the ideal venue for a celebration or theatre-style conference. With a maximum capacity of 480 persons, the main hall can be divided into smaller spaces for more intimate gatherings or private corporate events.

“Hotel ICON is the first of its kind in Asia,” said Richard Hatter, General Manager of Hotel ICON. “We are proud of the hotel and its link to local culture, which can be seen through various features of the hotel. Our aim is to further develop excellence in the hospitality industry and to celebrate local and international cuisine and creative design.”

For more information on Hotel ICON, please visit http://www.hotel-icon.com

CITIC Telecom CPC Reaffirms Industry Leadership with World Vendor Awards

Award adds to a stellar year in which the company prepares to launch two new SmartCLOUD series solutions and continues expansion in Asia Pacific

PRNewswire-Asia/ — CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited (“CITIC Telecom CPC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), reaffirmed its industry leadership by winning the prestigious World Vendor Awards 2011 – Best Hosted Solution. The recognition comes on top of a successful year for the company, which has consolidated its reputation for offering high quality and innovative services in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry.

The World Vendor Awards, which is organized by Total Telecom, focus on telecommunications industry vendors and use a panel of independent and impartial industry experts to judge entries. The awards give recognition to the true excellence among the companies supplying the hardware, software and services for the telecommunications industry worldwide.

The Best Hosted Solution award was given to CITIC Telecom CPC’s Managed Video Conferencing Service — VC² (VC-square). The service provides users with flexibility and mobility to access crystal clear video images by enabling HD Personal Telepresence with 3G Broadband Wireless connection. VC² stands out for its high quality, scalable, flexible and efficient HD Managed video conferencing solution that acts as a communication tool and enables business continuity at all times. Very importantly, customers get to enjoy the mentioned benefits at an affordable rate with the managed service model that eliminates the usual high CAPEX required for setting up a video conferencing system, as well as the regular maintenance costs that come with it.

VC² was first launched in 2009 as the first service of its kind in Asia to adopt H.264/SVC (Scalable Video Coding) video conferencing technology for converged IP networks to provide IP-VPN HD-based Managed Video Conferencing Services. The Best Hosted Solution award further demonstrates the company’s proactive approach in harnessing the latest technologies to develop high quality services that deliver efficient, yet affordable and easy-to-manage solutions. With its two flagship services — TrueCONNECT(TM) MPLS VPN and TrustCSI(TM) Information Security Services, and a series of complementary managed services, CITIC Telecom CPC keeps to its commitment in offering customers with high-quality, seamless ICT solutions to facilitate secure and efficient communications with business partners and customers, at anytime and anywhere.

The award comes at a strategic time as the company recently announced a name change from CPCNet to CITIC Telecom CPC and is preparing to launch two new solutions in its third flagship series — SmartCLOUD. Hitting the market in the near future are SmartCLOUD Compute, a revolutionary virtual server solution that goes beyond ordinary offerings to deliver best-in-class high-performance and high-availability with unprecedented value and management ease; and SmartCLOUD Mail, a suite of secure business e-mail management tools with strong mobility.

“CITIC Telecom CPC has strived to provide its customers with the best in quality and innovation by always anticipating and meeting their changing business needs,” said Stephen Ho, CEO of CITIC Telecom CPC. “This has enabled us to keep ahead of market trends — for example, our SmartCLOUD series will offer our customers a whole new level of flexibility and stability. We are very glad to win the World Vendor Awards and it will encourage us to continue innovating and raising the bar as we widen our service coverage to the Asia Pacific region and beyond.”

About CITIC Telecom CPC

CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited (“CITIC Telecom CPC”), formerly known as CPCNet Hong Kong Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), is a trusted ICT solutions partner with multiple branches across the Asia Pacific region, and a preferred partner by multinational corporations and business enterprises.

CITIC Telecom CPC delivers a range of innovative products and services, including: TrueCONNECT(TM)( http://www.cpcnet-hk.com/english/pdt/pdt_internet/pdt_internet_true/pdt_internet_true.asp ) — an advanced MPLS VPN service which employs state-of-the-art fully meshed network, TrustCSI(TM) — an integrated suite of information security solutions, and SmartCLOUD — smarter, better and high performance cloud computing solutions which complement the company’s managed network and managed security solutions. The company will continue to provide a whole range of best-in-class communications products, security solutions and managed services, maintaining its commitment to be your trusted partner.

CITIC Telecom CPC strives to deliver the highest level of service and excellent products to customers. In recognition for its excellence in the provision of information and communications technology solutions in the Asia Pacific region, the company has become the first VPN service provider in Hong Kong to receive certificates of ISO 9001 — Quality Management System, ISO 27001 — Information Security Management System and ISO 20000 — Information Technology Service Management System. Learn more at http://www.citictel-cpc.com .