Rapidly expanding Indian hotel operator OYO has ticked off entry into another new territory in its bid to be a truly global player.
It latest market entry is Saudi Arabia, and debuted with 50 hotels comprising more than 3,000 rooms.
It signed a memorandum of understanding with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
The first phase covers seven cities and OYO plans to expand to at least 17 cities by 2020, according to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, which was responsible for issuing the company’s foreign investment license.
It will employ 300 Saudis by the end of 2019 and set up OYO Skill Institutes in Riyadh and Jeddah to train Saudi hotel management graduates.
The latest expansion comes just after OYO closed out its latest funding round with $1 billion, which included an investment of $100 million from China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.
