IHG announced today the signing of the Crowne Plaza Sun Palace Beijing, scheduled to open in early 2008. This announcement highlights the pace of IHG's growth in Greater China, where it now has a total portfolio of 125 hotels – 65 in operation and an additional 60 in the development pipeline.

A. Patrick Imbardelli, chief executive of IHG Asia Pacific, said: "China is set to become the world's number one tourism market in the next 10-15 years. With 65 hotels in operation and a plan to have 125 hotels open by the end of 2008, we already have a good profitable business model. We continue to explore new opportunities to maintain our lead position so that we are able to capture the growing inbound and outbound demand in the years to come."

Crowne Plaza Sun Palace Beijing is being developed by Yunnan Metropolitan Construction Investment Co Ltd and will be managed by IHG. The 540-room new-build hotel will be located in the city centre, close to the Beijing International Exhibition Centre. The hotel, IHG's fourth Crowne Plaza hotel in Beijing, will have seven restaurants and bars and over 3,400 square metres of meeting space.

Other highlights in IHG's China pipeline include the InterContinental Qingdao located within the Olympic integrated complex; InterContinental Beijing North, Beijing Olympic Centre's first luxury hotel and Crowne Plaza International Airport Beijing, IHG's first airport hotel in China.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is an upscale hotel brand aimed at the business and meetings market. The hotels provide business travellers and meeting planners with comprehensive services and facilities that contribute to successful interactions. Two Crowne Plaza in China, the Crowne Plaza Shenzhen and Crowne Plaza Jinan, were named in Forbes Magazine's China's Best Business Hotels Award.