Tuesday, March 9, 2010

CapitaMalls Asia pays $114m for Chengdu project

Price takes into account NTA of $9.5m and $92.5m shareholder loan

CAPITAMALLS Asia (CMA) has bought an integrated development in Chengdu comprising retail, residential and office components for 554.2 million yuan (S$114 million) from CapitaRetail China Development Fund II (CRCDF II).

CMA has a 45 per cent stake in CRCDF II. CMA, listed on the Singapore bourse late last year, is 65.5 per cent owned by CapitaLand.

The acquisition is being effected through the purchase of a 100 per cent stake in Growing State Holdings Limited (GSHL), a Hong Kong-incorporated investment holding company whose fully-owned China unit is developing the integrated project.

The $114 million cash consideration took into account, among other factors, the net tangible assets of GSHL of about $9.5 million as at Jan 31, 2010, and a shareholder’s loan of about $92.5 million from CRCDF II to GSHL.

CMA estimates its total expenditure on the development, inclusive of the land cost of 305 million yuan and construction and fitting-out costs, at about 1.79 billion yuan. This works out to 8,866 yuan (S$1,823) per square metre of gross floor area (GFA).

The development will have a total GFA of 201,813 square metres and about 1,348 car park lots when completed.

This will include a shopping mall with a GFA of 133,571 sq m and residential and office components with planned GFA of 33,246 sq m and 22,820 sq m respectively.

The integrated development is in Chengdu’s Gao Xin district, at the core of the city’s upcoming South Business District (SBD), north of the South Third Ring Road. The project is within 50 metres of a completed metro train station which is expected to be operational by Q3 this year.

Tianfu Mall, which is currently in the early stages of development, is slated to open at end-2013. It will serve a catchment population of about 400,000 people within a five-kilometre radius.

CMA chairman Liew Mun Leong said: ‘Our integrated development, located right in the heart of the South Business District, will benefit from the demand in this new catchment area for quality retail, residential and office real estate.’

The company’s chief executive officer, Lim Beng Chee, said: ‘This is a win-win deal for both CapitaMalls Asia and CapitaRetail China Development Fund II. The fund is already fully committed, and CapitaMalls Asia will be able to quickly ramp up development and capitalise on the potential of the site as all the development approvals have already been obtained.

‘Our acquisitions of Meili Mall in Chengdu and this integrated development will increase our presence and exposure in China, which we target to account for 40 per cent of the total value of our properties.’

Last month, CMA announced its purchase of Meili Mall for 459.9 million yuan from a unit of China Vanke, China’s biggest residential developer. Including fitting-out, CMA’s estimated total expenditure on Meili Mall is 520 million yuan. Meili Mall’s targeted opening date is mid-2013.

Source: Business Times, 9 Mar 2010

No comments:

Post a Comment