房地产行业：Singapore CapitaLand Buys China Malls; Eyes REIT (转贴)
Singapore CapitaLand Buys China Malls; Eyes REIT
12-22-04 09:41 PM EST
(Updates throughout with details, background)
SINGAPORE -(Dow Jones)- CapitaLand Ltd. (C31.SG) said Thursday it will buy and manage retail malls in China, a move that could be a prelude to its first real- estate investment trust in the world’s fastest-growing economy.
CapitaLand, Southeast Asia’s largest property developer, will pay CNY983.88 million, or around S$195.99 million, to China’s state-owned Shenzhen International Trust & Investment Co. Ltd. (SZI.YY), or Szitic, for the malls.
The Singapore government-linked company will control a 51% stake in six companies that will develop and own a chain of Chinese retail malls anchored by Wal-Mart (WMT) stores. A Szitic unit, which owns a 35% share in Wal-Mart operations in China, will hold the remaining 49%.
The pact also allows CapitaLand to buy within a year 14 other projects that are or will be developed into malls.
CapitaLand Chief Executive Liew Mun Leong said the deal with Szitic would give CapitaLand an opportunity to set up a REIT in China.
“It provides an opportunity for us to create property funds or securitization instruments which meet the increasing demand of retail and institutional investors for such financial products,” he said in a statement. “Looking ahead, the properties could form the portfolio of a China retail property fund which has listing potential.”
The deal comes just days after Hong Kong scrapped the listing of the US$3 billion Link REIT after an unexpected legal challenge threatened to derail the world’s largest REIT offering. CapitaLand had bought 5.9% of the Link REIT offering before the IPO was scrapped.
CapitaLand owns CapitaMall Trust Ltd., the largest of the five REITs in Singapore where such investments have recently gained favor because of good yields and tax benefits.
CapitaLand has invested CNY12 billion, or about US$1.4 billion, in China since 1994.
By Kevin Lim and Izham Ahmad, Dow Jones Newswires,
(65) 6415-4150; [email protected]
Dow Jones Newswires
12-22-04 2141ET
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