Tag Archives: VivoCity

Mapletree to launch China property fund next 2 years

Posted on 26 May 2011 | Comments Off on Mapletree to launch China property fund next 2 years

Singapore’s Mapletree Investments plans to set up a China-focused fund that will have US$500 million to US$1 billion ($624 million to $1.2 billion) to invest in Chinese commercial property once it deploys most of the money in its existing funds, a senior executive said on Wednesday.

The fund, which will be backed by internal funds and money raised from outside investors, will likely be launched in 2012 or 2013, Group Chief Investment Officer Chua Tiow Chye told reporters at a press conference.

“The new China fund will be purely commercial-related so investors are quite clear what they are co-investing with us,” said Chua.

“Looking at our pipeline, for us to deploy US$500 million worth of equity over a period of 2-3 years should not be an issue,” he added.

Mapletree Investments, a property firm owned by state investor Temasek (TEM.UL), manages property funds including several that are listed on the Singapore Exchange.

For the financial year ended March, the firm made a net profit of $747 million, 90% higher than $394 million it made in 2009/2010. Mapletree Investments owns or manages $15.4 billion worth of assets as at March 31, it said in its annual report.

Earlier this year, it raised $898 million through the initial public offering of Mapletree Commercial (MACT.SI), whose key asset is Vivocity, Singapore’s largest shopping mall.

On the upcoming China fund, Chua said Mapletree Investments targets annual returns of about 18-22%, similar to what it hopes to achieve for its existing US$1.2 billion China and India fund.

The China-focused fund will likely invest in commercial assets in the office, retail and some mixed-residential sectors in the country’s first and second-tier cities.

He added that the Temasek-linked firm expects to do better than most players in the increasingly crowded China market, given its experience in managing malls and offices across the region.

“Because of all the anti-speculative measures which the government has put in place, there’s quite a fair bit of interest by even local developers to look at commercial properties,” he added.

Mapletree Investments, which also expects to launch a US$300-$500 million Vietnam fund in 2013, does not currently have plans to list itself, Group Chief Executive Hiew Yoon Khong said.

Source : TheEdge – 26 May 2011

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Posted in Developers, Overseas Property

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CapitaMalls Asia to grow portfolio

Posted on 23 May 2011 | Comments Off on CapitaMalls Asia to grow portfolio

CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) is planning to acquire at least seven more malls by the end of the year, to grow its S$24.1-billion global portfolio to 100 properties. This is in line with plans to acquire another S$2 billion worth of new projects this year.

All eyes are on the growth of the Chinese market, which makes up the lion’s share of the portfolio in terms of gross floor area (GFA) at 70 per cent, ahead of Singapore at 20 per cent, Malaysia, India and Japan.

CMA wants to enhance its early mover advantage in China, and has set out a longer term vision to double the number of malls there within three to five years.

That could help the Chinese market catch up with Singapore’s lead in terms of asset value, where Singapore contributes 55 per cent of the portfolio.

“We started to grow a lot of our shopping malls, maybe a bit too early in 2004, 2005, but we are seeing the results coming through… In the next two, three years, China will have a bigger base and from there we can launch to grow even further,” said Mr Lim Beng Chee, CEO of CMA.

To accelerate that growth, CMA will be rolling out its 3rd Generation (3G) malls concept this year, where standardised building designs will be used to cut down costs and reduce construction time from three to two years.

“The concept involves a common tenant mix and layout, which will also make it easier to negotiate the lease of multiple locations at one go,” said Mr Chan Kong Leong, CMA’s general manager for West China.

Another key change is a smaller proportion of space given to anchor tenants. They will now be allocated only about 30 per cent of the net lettable area, down from at least half previously.

This creates a higher upside for yields and helps the mall become more profitable faster. But CMA adds that there will be exceptions to its cookie cutter approach and some malls could still have special designs if they have good locations.

CMA is also banking on a strategy of focusing on the mass market segment because of the flexibility and economies of scale it creates.

Euromonitor market research firm estimates that there are currently about 1,200 malls in China – with up to 150 malls built each year for the past eight years.

In response to this high demand, Chengdu’s CapitaMall Jinniu is being expanded to a gross floor area of more than 2 million sq ft or more than twice the size of VivoCity.

CMA added that it is also now more positive about the prospects of third- and fourth-tier cities than it was a few years ago, and is considering opening more malls in cities it already is in.

Source : Today – 23 May 2011

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Posted in Funds

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