CapitaLand marks 20 years in China with 145 properties worth S$42b

China now accounts for 39% of total assets.

CapitaLand Limited marked its 20th anniversary in China over the weekend, and celebrated the milestone with news that it currently owns or manages 145 properties in 45 Chinese cities worth over RMB200 billion (over S$42 billion).

Since its entry into China in 1994, CapitaLand has grown into a leading real estate developer in the country with a diversified real estate portfolio of homes, offices, shopping malls, serviced residences and mixed-use developments, the company said.

It also has one of the largest real estate fund management businesses in China, with 12 private equity funds and two Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) – Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) and CapitaRetail China Trust (CRCT) – that have a strong presence in China.

China is one of CapitaLand’s two core markets and the Group’s largest market outside Singapore. As at 30 September 2013, CapitaLand’s China business accounts for 39% or S$14.2 billion of the Group’s total assets of S$36.4 billion excluding treasury cash, from 9% or S$1.5 billion a decade ago.

Mr Lim Ming Yan, President & Group CEO, CapitaLand Limited, said: “2014 marks a significant milestone for CapitaLand. As one of the first foreign developers in China 20 years ago, we are honoured to have contributed and benefitted from the country’s economic development and phenomenal urbanisation programme.”

Since 1994, CapitaLand’s wholly-owned business unit, CapitaLand China, has built more than 40,000 mass to high-end residential units in China. It has a pipeline of over 60,000 homes and remains committed to address the housing needs of Chinese residents.

From one shopping mall in China in 2003, CapitaMalls Asia, CapitaLand’s shopping mall business which is separately listed on both the Singapore and Hong Kong stock exchanges, is now a leading shopping mall developer, owner and manager in China with over 60 malls spanning a total gross floor area of about 6.4 million square metres (sqm). The majority of these malls are operational. These comprise several landmark malls in iconic shopping districts in key cities, as well as suburban malls that cater to the day-to-day shopping, dining and lifestyle aspirations and needs of the local populations.

From one shopping mall in China in 2003, CapitaMalls Asia, CapitaLand’s shopping mall business which is separately listed on both the Singapore and Hong Kong stock exchanges, is now a leading shopping mall developer, owner and manager in China with over 60 malls spanning a total gross floor area of about 6.4 million square metres (sqm). The majority of these malls are operational. These comprise several landmark malls in iconic shopping districts in key cities, as well as suburban malls that cater to the day-to-day shopping, dining and lifestyle aspirations and needs of the local populations.

CapitaLand first brought its signature ‘Raffles City’ brand of mixed-use developments to China with the official launch of Raffles City Shanghai in 2004. It has since expanded its stable of ‘Raffles City’ developments to eight spanning a total construction area of over 3.1 million sqm with an estimated value of S$12 billion on completion. Other than 'Raffles City' in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Ningbo which have begun operations, CapitaLand has four other ‘Raffles City’ developments in Chongqing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai (Changning) currently under development.

CapitaLand also has one of the largest real estate fund management businesses in China with assets under management diversified across its residential, shopping mall, serviced residence and mixed-use development businesses. The portfolio includes 12 private equity funds and two Singapore-listed REITs – Ascott Reit and CRCT – that have a strong presence in China. Ascott Reit’s portfolio, spanning Asia Pacific and Europe, consists of seven serviced residence properties in China while CRCT is the first and only China shopping mall REIT with a portfolio of 10 income-producing malls.

China accounts for more than 50% of CapitaLand’s global staff strength, with over 7,000 staff in the country, of which 95% are local.