CapitaMalls Asia

[Nick]

Might be the first step to setting up a REIT in SEHK ? Be listed there for 2-3 years to gain retailer and institutional following and support. Then when they IPO a REIT, they could easily float the idea and the ipo would be a success ?

This is my speculation. Ultimately, CMA needs a vehicle for its asset recycling strategy.

[freedom]

CMA has 3 private equity funds to recycle its China malls. plus 1 reit.

[freedom]

imo, that CapitaMall Asia chose to second list in HKEx, can help it to fund its growth in China greatly. After listing in HKEx, CapitaMall Asia can easily issue debt in RMB instead of S$, which is the currency for growing malls in China.

As well, CapitaMall Asia can set up more China private equity funds in RMB rather than in US$ or S$.

There are quite substantial RMB floating in HK. HK is the only place for CapitaMall Asia to tap RMB.

[Nick]

A research report from DBSV covering their latest CMA malls visit in China.

http://www.remisiers.org/cms_images/rese...y_DBSV.pdf

[corydorus]

I did a quick scan on the photos in the research report. I was hoping to see huge crowd.


Cory

[Blackjack]

I did a quick scan on the photos in the research report. I was hoping to see huge crowd.

I like that. Shortcut sleuthing. But not sure what time the pictures are taken?

[lonewolf]

The time stamp on the photos are from 30 Mar to 1 Apr 11.

Personally I'm not sure how useful having a big crowd is; but I guess it can't hurt.

No crowd = bad.

Big crowd = does not mean good; but better than bad.

[Blackjack]

Or rather:

No crowd at 0700hrs = Okay
No crowd at 1200hrs = Not okay
No crowd at 1700hrs = Jialat
No crowd from 0700hrs - 2100hrs = Die

Then again, I can't recall seeing a big crowd in any mall during my trip to Shanghai a few years back.

[Musicwhiz]

May 23, 2011
CMA builds on retail growth in China
By Cheryl Lim

PROPERTY firm CapitaMalls Asia (CMA), a unit of CapitaLand, remains bullish on the Chinese retail scene, with plans to cement China as its base for further expansion on the mainland.

The Singapore-based company said its properties in China now account for 70 per cent of the firm's total portfolio by gross floor area. More than 66 per cent of its staff are working in China.

'Now we have a Singapore base to grow in China. I think in the next two, three years, China will have a bigger base and then from there we can launch even further,' said chief executive Lim Beng Chee.

The company, which now has 53 Chinese shopping centres, intends to boost that to 100 within the next five years. Five malls - in Shanghai, Beijing, Harbin and Rizhao - are slated to open by the end of this year.

This expansion is supported by a jump in consumer activity, Mr Lim said.

The developer's total shopper traffic in China climbed 10.7 per cent last year over 2009's figures, while overall tenant sales grew by 20 per cent.

Mr Lim was speaking on the sidelines of the CMA Retailers' Forum in the western Chinese city of Chengdu, an area experiencing rapid retail growth.

Retail sales in Chengdu, the biggest economic centre in western China, have shot up from 62.8 billion yuan (S$12 billion) in 2001 to 241.8 billion yuan last year.

Chengdu is currently the Chinese city with the third-largest number of CMA malls, after Beijing and Shanghai.

Mr Lim said CMA's slate of 11 malls in China's western region could be bumped up to 20 or more over the next five years.

He also noted that third- and fourth-tier cities in China, like Sichuan province's Mianyang and Deyang cities, could offer huge opportunities for CMA.

Both Mianyang and Deyang have populations of more than one million each, which means shopper catchments that could justify two or three new malls in each city.

Mr Lim also noted that daily traffic in all of CMA's 92 malls across Asia has risen to 1.8 million so far this year, up from 1.5 million last year. He said the number of malls should rise to 100 by the end of the year.

He also gave more details about how the firm will build third-generation or '3G' malls, an approach that will be applied to new projects developed this year.

The 3G method will see CMA scaling up its operations by building 'cookie-cutter' malls in China that share standardised elements like design, development and models of leasing.

Mr Lim told the forum that a 3G mall will comprise three to four storeys and have facilities like atriums.

'Building standardised shop units cuts down on design time and renovation costs and are easier to lay out. Tenants will be able to secure space at multiple locations at one go,' he said.

'Residents in the area will also be able to use the atriums as event spaces. This will benefit retailers by drawing traffic into the mall.'

[Musicwhiz]

Business Times - 25 May 2011

CapitaMalls Asia converts China fund

By EMILYN YAP

CAPITAMALLS Asia (CMA) is converting a development fund into an income fund, and fresh capital has flowed in to boost the fund's size to US$900 million from US$600 million.

The CapitaRetail China Development Fund (CRCDF) was launched in 2006 with a committed capital of US$600 million. It invested primarily in mall developments in China.

CRCDF was due to expire in June 2012, but CMA is converting it into the CapitaMalls China Income Fund (CMCIF), which will mature in 2017.

'We decided to convert the fund after investors indicated their preference to continue co-investing with us in China,' said CMA CEO Lim Beng Chee.

The conversion is also in line with how the malls have progressed from the development stage to the operational stage. Investors can now expect to receive distribution income from the fund's 24 malls, which will be running by the end of the year.

'The fund is expected to provide stable distributions to its investors, effectively making it a private Reit-like vehicle,' Mr Lim said. 'This caters to investors who prefer to invest in real estate through a private fund structure instead of publicly-listed Reits.'

CMA gained three cents yesterday to close at $1.62.