Sparx Group Co., Asia's second-largest hedge fund, is starting a fund that will invest in building hotels in parts of Japan devasted by the March 11 catastrophe.
Sparx tied up with Kachikaihatsu Co., a Tokyo-based property firm that operates the Best Western hotel brand in Japan, to build its first project in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, said Chief Executive Officer Shuhei Abe. Sparx raised ¥1.1 billion ($14 million) for the project aimed at providing lodging for relief workers and volunteers following the quake-tsunami disaster, he said.
Sparx is expanding its offerings from stocks as Abe aims to bring his firm back to profit and resume dividend payments this year. The 314-room hotel will be built in sections that are transported to the site, cutting costs by half and the length of construction by more than a year, according to Abe.