Category Archives: Developers

CapLand retail unit spin-off may raise up to $2.78b

It could be S’pore’s largest IPO since SingTel; pricing aggressive, but take-up may be healthy

CapitaLand is seeking up to $2.78 billion from the listing of its retail arm CapitaMalls Asia (CMA). Some 1.165 billion shares are being offered at $1.98 to $2.39 apiece, according to e-mails sent to potential investors seen by BT.

This means that CapitaLand could raise between $2.31 billion and $2.78 billion. The developer intends to float 30 per cent of CMA.

If the pricing is achieved, CMA’s initial public offering (IPO) will be the largest so far this year. According to data tracked by Bloomberg, the 17 share sales in Singapore this year have raised an average $17.3 million.

In fact, if the offering is priced at the top end of the range, the share sale may well be the largest IPO in Singapore since SingTel’s initial offering in 1993, which raised more than $4 billion – a record that has yet to be broken.

CMA’s listing will give investors access to a company that manages 86 retail properties across Asia including Ion Orchard. The company’s net asset value is estimated to be about $5.3 billion.

CMA’s prospectus, which was filed with the Monetary Authority of Singapore yesterday, did not give details on the IPO’s size and pricing. In response to media reports quoting the price range and number of shares being floated, CapitaLand reiterated late yesterday that its decision to proceed with the IPO (as well as the size and pricing) will be subject to ‘investor demand and prevailing capital market conditions’, among other things. Continue reading

Top-line oven to warm home buyers’ hearts

More property developers are throwing in branded ovens and other luxury fittings to draw homemakers

A MIELE oven can do more than bake a cake these days – it might just help whip up a home sale. More developers are including branded appliances in apartments to impress home seekers, and some have certainly stopped to gawk at the gadgetry.

PRICE MATTERS
Despite the inclusion of branded appliances in units, some buyers would still care more about the prices of the homes

But will all house hunters bite? Anecdotal evidence suggests that some would still care more about the prices of the homes, especially if they were never fans of the brands to begin with.

‘The inclusion of branded appliances has both its good and bad points,’ said Chesterton Suntec International research and consultancy director Colin Tan.

‘If the developer knows his target market well, it is a plus… It is a negative if the buyer does not recognise the brand or appreciate it.’

Developers of mid to high-end units have used premium furnishings to boost their projects’ image for some time, but the trend gathered more steam some two years ago when markets boomed.

Rich consumers searched for new ways to spend, and steel fridges and dishwashers quickly became the new status symbols. Continue reading