Singapore-based luxury resort chain Banyan Tree will develop its first luxury residential property in China, reported the South China Morning Post Wednesday.

Banyan Tree will launch the project in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, where the residential property is located in a suburb 45 minutes away from the city.

The new property will include luxury homes and condominiums which will be rolled out in phases. The Banyan Tree hospitality group currently operates 30 luxury hotels and resorts in the Asia Pacific region, as well as three golf courses.

Chengdu was chosen as the location for the group’s maiden residential development because of the Sichuan province’s robust growth potential.

“Prices in Shanghai and Beijing are over the top. Potential is limited,” Eddy See, senior VP and CFO of the Singapore-listed hospitality group, told the news daily.

The Banyan Tree group will not compete with local property players but will draw home buyers through a niche marketing strategy, added the report.

The Banyan Tree group currently manages hotels in China in the cities of Hangzhou, Sanya and Macau, and has equity interests in hotel and holiday homes in Lijiang in the Yunnan province (pictured above & below).