India’s diversified entity ITC plans to open more hotels overseas with neighbouring countries and the Middle East as primary target markets after opening of its first international property here, company Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri said on Thursday.

The company’s arm ITC Hotels, which had opened 22 new properties in the last 24 months, plans to add another 70 hotels in the next five years in India as part of expansion plans in the hospitality sector.

Besides the hotels business, the company will look for opportunities to expand the presence of FMCG and other verticals in new overseas markets as well.

“We are open to exploring opportunities that come about. I think we have strong credentials in hospitality which we can take outside India now. Very clearly at the moment the focus is on proximal markets, be it for hospitality, be it for FMCG...,” Puri said here at a press conference after the opening of the 352-room luxury property, ITC Ratnadipa here. He said as the company explores and understands a place for a particular business, it may look at it as a market for other verticals as well. Citing the example of Nepal, Puri said,”We started with other businesses and are now looking at hospitality (there). Here (in Sri Lanka) we have started with hospitality...As we explore and understand the place, we will look at possibilities in some of our other sectors as well.”

On overseas expansion of the hospitality business, while the company’s focus is more on ‘proximal markets’, he said,”We are open to it if there are some interesting opportunities beyond it. We will certainly be interested in pursuing that.”

When asked if ITC is looking at the Middle East as a market for the hospitality business, he said it is a vibrant economy right now with terrific growth plans and “if opportunity comes our way then we will certainly explore that”.