Alex Chui is the company's new managing director in the Shanghai office and will oversee all of Portman's real estate activities in China. Chui comes to Portman from Sun Hung Kai Properties where he was director and general manager.

Martin Taxson has been named senior project director in the Shanghai office and will act as a liaison with on-site project managers and provide business development support. He has 40 years experience in the industry.

W. Dean Wilkerson is a new senior vice president of construction in Portman's Atlanta office. He joins Portman from HDC International where he oversaw the design and construction of a $227-million hotel and convention center in Schaumburg, IL.

The new hires were named as Portman Holdings continues to grow its development pipeline in the Far East. The company has formed a joint venture to develop Jian Ye Li, a $105-million, 458,000-sf mixed-use, luxury project comprised of high-end residential, serviced apartments, retail and parking in the Xuhui District of Shanghai. In India, Portman Holdings has contracted to develop Sansara, a $150-million portfolio of luxury apartments. The company's office is in Mumbai.

The crown jewel of Portman Holdings' newest ventures may be its planned 151-story mixed-use tower in Incheon, Korea. When completed, the , 2,000-foot tower will be the tallest building in Northeast Asia, according to Portman Holdings president Thomas Arasi. The tower will be built on a 1,500-acre tract that will also house residential, office and hotel space. The estimated aggregate development cost is $11 billion.

"There are tremendous opportunities in development in the Far East due to the phenomenal economic growth taking place in countries such as China and India, and there is also growing interest in the Middle East," Arasi says. "With these additional boots on the ground [new hires], Portman is well positioned to source a pipeline of attractive, large-scale deals and deploy the expertise to capitalize on opportunities."

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