General Electric International Inc (NYSE:GE) and Tune Hotels, the pioneering value hotel chain under Tune Group, signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) today to explore opportunities on sustainable developments. The MoC was signed by Chief Executive Officer of GE ASEAN, Stuart Dean, and Group Chief Executive Officer of Tune Hotels, Mark Lankester, to identify opportunities for collaboration with the aim of achieving cost savings and energy efficiency in Tune Hotel’s operations globally.

The signing was witnessed by Dato’ Sri Peter Chin, Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, with Mohamed Butt, Chief Executive Officer for Asia, GE Lighting and Mitul Lakhani, Chief Financial Officer of Tune Hotels also present at the ceremony.

Stuart Dean expressed GE’s commitment to working with local partners to develop environmentally driven business strategies that will help drive Malaysia towards becoming a high income nation.

“Our partnership with Tune Hotels demonstrates GE's commitment to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative technologies through open collaboration. Using our ecomagination & GE Sustainable Cities approach, we have been building sustainable developments certified by various Green Building Certification programs in multiple jurisdictions across the globe, powered by our new technologies and solutions. We hope to contribute and share our expertise across the spectrum of products and services we offer and work with Tune Hotels to achieve the desired impact for its operations,” he said.

“This collaboration is a testament of GE’s commitment to support the Malaysian Government’s aspirations to promote efficient green solutions,” he added.

Under the agreement, GE’s role will be to assist Tune Hotels in reviewing, planning and designing properties by contributing its knowledge and expertise in the areas of low-cost operational modeling, sustainable development, cost-saving infrastructure, energy efficiency and green technology such as GE’s LED lighting solutions. The collaboration will also help Tune Hotels work towards achieving relevant eco-building certifications such as with Malaysia’s Green Building Index, the Singapore Building and Construction Authority’s BCA Green Mark and the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

The agreement will also explore the development and implementation of sustainable energy solutions within Tune Hotels’ operations and allow them to leverage GE’s ecomagination™ line of products and cutting-edge technologies in creating environmental solutions for both their existing and upcoming projects, such as the replacement of Tune hotel Kelantan, Malaysia signage from neon lights to GE’s energy efficient Tetra Minimax LED module that enabled Tune hotel to achieve increased cost savings in their operations.

Tune Hotels’ Group CEO Mark Lankester said: “Tune Hotels has been in consistent pursuit of green technologies and eco-friendly approaches to ramp up our service and business efficiency. Having pioneered the pay-as-you-use concept that has gained huge popularity amongst travellers and holidaymakers from across the world, we are proud to be working with GE on exploring environmentally driven business strategies. This will not only benefit our business but more importantly our guests who can look forward to enjoying further savings and convenience.”

Tune Hotels, which is part of the lifestyle conglomerate Tune Group currently, has 13 hotels in its global network. Its 10th Malaysian hotel is opening in Kulim, Kedah later this month, on top of 2 hotels in Bali, Indonesia and one in London, England. More Tune Hotels are scheduled for opening in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, the UK, India and Malaysia from Q4 this year through 2012.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is an advanced technology, services and finance company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. Dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.

About GE ecomagination
GE is driving a global energy transformation with a focus on innovation and R&D investment to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technology. Since its inception in 2005, more than 90 ecomagination-approved products have been brought to market with revenues reaching $18 billion in 2009. With $5 billion invested in R&D its first five years, GE committed to doubling its ecomagination investment and collaborate with partners to accelerate a new era of energy innovation. The company will invest $10 billion in R&D over five years and double operational energy efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. As part of the initiative, GE launched “GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid”, a $200 million financial commitment challenging innovators to join in building the next-generation power grid. For more information, visit the ecomagination website at http://www.ecomagination.com

About Tune Hotels
Since Tune Hotels was first launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2007, over 2 million guests have stayed in its properties spread across Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Kingdom. It now has 13 hotels located in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, KLIA-LCCT Airport, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kota Damansara, Bintulu, Kota Bharu and Kulim in Malaysia; Kuta and Legian in Bali, Indonesia; and London in the United Kingdom.

All Tune Hotels hotels feature space-efficient, streamlined rooms focusing on high-quality basics: 5-star bed, powerful hot showers and energy-saving fans. The strategically located hotels provide housekeeping services, electronic keycard access into rooms, CCTV surveillance, and prohibits access into the main lobby without a keycard past midnight.  Through Tune Hotels’ ‘Less Waste, More Earth’ pay-as-you-use system of add-ons wi-fi, TV, laundered towels and other energy-consuming facilities and amenities, Tune Hotels aims to help guests conserve both their funds as well as the earth’s resources.