Mapletree Investments Pte, the real estate unit of Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte, posted a 90% increase in full-year profit as rents improved at its Singapore commercial properties and it got income from new properties in Japan and Vietnam.
Net income rose to $747 million in the year ended March 31 from $394 million the previous year, the Singapore-based company said at a press briefing in the city- state today. Total assets owned and managed by Mapletree rose 19% to $15.4 billion in the year.
The company aims to grow its assets under management to between $20 billion and $25 billion and have a recurring fee income of at least $200 million in three years. It listed two of its units in the past year, with Mapletree Industrial Trust raising $853 million in October last year and Mapletree Commercial Trust raising $893.2 million in April.
“Our business model of combining our development expertise with capabilities in investment and capital management has produced good results,” Hiew Yoon Khong, Mapletree’s chief executive officer, said at the briefing.
The company said it plans to start a Japan business space fund, with a fund equity size of between US$300 million to US$500 million, focusing on business assets located close to transport hubs. Mapletree has already bought 15 billion yen ($229 million) of seed assets, it said.
Hiew said the company plans to look for opportunities in new markets like South Korea, while continuing its expansion in Singapore, China, Japan, India and Vietnam.
Source : TheEdge – 25 May 2011
