Shopping mall developer CapitaMalls Asia has added two new malls in Qingdao, China and Japan worth a total of S$662.2 million to strengthen its presence in the region.
CapitaMalls announced on Monday that it signed an agreement to acquire a site to develop its first shopping mall in Qingdao, China.
It was acquired from Qingdao Vanke City Real Estate Co. Ltd and Qingdao Shuangshan Gongmao Co. Ltd.
The site is located at the junction of Heilongjiang Road and Hefei Road in Sifang district.
CapitaMalls Asia plans to develop a six-storey shopping mall with a total gross floor area excluding car park of about 89,700 square metres.
Including land cost, the total development cost of the shopping mall is expected to be about RMB 1,457.0 million (S$294.9 million) or about RMB 16,235 (S$3,286) per square metre of gross floor area.
When completed in 2015, the development expects to reach 550,000 residents within a 5km radius.
Mr Lim Beng Chee, CEO of CapitaMalls Asia, said he is confident about retail growth prospects in Qingdao.
“Including this mall, we now have seven malls in Northeast China. This acquisition is in line with our strategy to expand our footprint in China and strengthen our presence in the cities and regions we are already in,” he said.
CapitaMalls Asia has also acquired a mall in Japan.
It announced on Monday that it is acquiring Olinas Mall in Tokyo for JPY 22.8 billion (S$367.3 million) from Tiger Eye Realty Yugen Kaisha.
Mr Lim said: “The addition of the Olinas Mall will also strengthen our portfolio in Japan and widen our retailers’ network in the region. We have seen an increased interest by Japanese retailers to expand overseas.”
Olinas Mall was completed in 2006, and is located in Kinshicho area in the Sumida Ward of Tokyo.
It is part of a large integrated development with a total gross floor area of about 583,000 square feet, with a total car parking capacity of 853 spaces.
Olinas Mall is multi-tenanted, with 100 per cent occupancy at present.
The mall is also priced at S$964 (HK$5,848) per square foot of net lettable area, and has a current net property income yield in excess of 6 per cent.
Olinas Mall reaches more than 1.2 million people within a 5km radius.
With this acquisition, CapitaMalls Asia now has eight malls in Japan.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 30 Jul 2012