Resort operator Dusit International will make its Vietnamese debut in December 2017, with the opening of the Dusit Princess Moonrise Beach on the island of Phu Quoc.

The Thailand-based group has signed a franchising deal with Linh Chi Limited Company for the 108-room hotel.

Facilities at the resort will include a luxury spa, outdoor pool, lounge and pool bars and conferencing space.

According to Suphajee Suthumpun, Dusit’s group CEO, the Vietnam property is part of the company’s plans to diversify the way it operates its properties.

“The new hotel will open under our newly developed franchise model,” he said. “It will help property owners gain maximum returns while providing them with all the benefits they expect from a global brand. We’re very much looking forward to working with Linh Chi on this special project.”

The announcement comes just weeks after Dusit revealed it was investing US$1.4bn (€1.3bn, £1.1bn) in developing its existing Dusit Thani hotel in Bangkok into a “mega-resort.”

The group signed a deal with Bangkok’s quasi-government Crown Property Bureau to extend its lease for the land in order for it to be able to develop the site over the next 30 years – with the right to extend the lease by the same length again after that.

“it will be a new icon of Bangkok’s new era the same way the iconic Dusit Thani Bangkok made history when it opened 47 years ago,” Suthumpun said.