Daily Archives: 31 Oct 2009

CapitaLand gets shareholder nod to list retail arm

Posted on 31 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on CapitaLand gets shareholder nod to list retail arm

CAPITALAND shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) yesterday approved the company’s plan to spin off and list its $20.3 billion retail portfolio – after just one hour.

But many of them were concerned with two issues – how much the special dividend payout from CapitaMalls Asia’s (CMA) listing will amount to, and whether they will get preference when it comes to subscribing for CMA shares.

In response to their queries, CapitaLand’s management said it could not say at present how much the special dividend payout will be.

Market watchers have estimated that if CapitaLand floats a 30 per cent stake of CMA, it could book a pre-tax profit of $800 million to $1.4 billion from the IPO.

Chief financial officer Olivier Lim said the company will only pay dividends from IPO profits, not gross proceeds, and only after setting aside funds to take advantage of opportunities to grow the group’s other business divisions.

The company also reiterated that it will not give existing CapitaLand shareholders preference when it comes to applying for CMA shares. To do so would disadvantage overseas investors, Mr Lim said. Continue reading →

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Posted in Developers

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Flats four times over-subscribed

Posted on 31 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on Flats four times over-subscribed
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The 1,200 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats offered in Sengkang and Jurong West drew nearly four times the number of applicants at the close of applications on Thursday night.

The project in Sengkang, Fernvale Palms, was the more popular, with the 495 housing board flats more than four times subscribed. About 2,300 people applied for the 705 units at Boon Lay Meadow (picture – An artist’s impression of Boon Lay Meadow).

One industry player sees the demand as the norm and not the result of recent high Housing & Development Board (HDB) resale prices. Response depends on location, said PropNex chief executive Mohammed Ismail. “If the BTO appears in a mature estate, we could see a very high number” of applications that could exceed by five times the number of flats.

The HDB will release 13,500 flats this year, of which 4,000 are slated to be offered over the next two months in Punggol, Bukit Panjang, Sembawang and Dawson.

Mr Eugene Lim, ERA Asia-Pacific’s associate director, thinks it will not do much to dampen resale prices. Those who do not qualify for first-time buyer priority or who cannot wait three years will go to the resale market, he said.

Source : Today – 31 Oct 2009

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Posted in HDB

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