Construction of Swatch Hotel Starts in Shanghai

The Swatch Group Ltd., the world’s largest watches manufacturer, on Thursday held a ground breaking ceremony for the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai. CEO Nick Hayek said the hotel is part of the development of the Swatch brand.

The Swiss watchmaker is building the project with the Jin Jiang Group, China’s leading hotel and travel group, at the South Building of the historic Peace Hotel located at the Bund, Shanghai’s former financial district

“We continue investing heavily not only in our production facilities or our distribution network, but also into new innovative projects such as this one,” Hayek said.

The hotel is expected to be ready by May 2010 to host the arts and working artists of the Shanghai EXPO.