DUBAI: Qatar Holding announced on Tuesday that it would launch a series of Harrods-branded hotels across the world, including one in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. The Qatar government, which has owned the Harrods brand for the past two years, said it would develop a property in the hip shopping district of Bukit Bintang district of the capital. It announced that it had inked a deal with a group of Malaysian partners for the proposed property. A hotel management company will be established to seek out similar projects around the world, according to a joint statement by Harrods and Qatar Holding. “We have already decided to build a Harrods Hotel in London, one in Kuala Lumpur and one in Sardinia, Italy," Qatar Holding Vice Chairman Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla told reporters in the Malaysian capital today. “We are looking to invest more in Malaysia because we think the economy is growing." Qatar Holding paid 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) for Harrods in 2010, including its landmark store in London's Knightsbridge district, which opened in 1849. The hotel initiative is part of a strategy to develop the brand beyond retailing. The Kuala Lumpur hotel would be the group's first in Asia. It also wants to open in China, Al-Abdullah said.
