CapitaLand wins bid for prime mixed-use site in Guangzhou Science City for RMB882 million

Singapore, 12 November 2018 – CapitaLand has successfully clinched a prime mixed-use site in Guangzhou, China, for RMB882 million (about S$175.2 million). The 4.7-hectare greenfield site in Huangpu District – one of China’s wealthiest districts by GDP per capita – is located within Guangzhou Science City, a government-backed innovation and technology hub. The gross floor area (GFA) to be built on the site totals 142,107 square metres (sq m). Around 70% of which will be dedicated to investment assets comprising office, retail space and serviced residence, while the rest will be developed into low-density strata offices. CapitaLand holds a 75% stake in the development with the remainder held by an unrelated third party. The development is targeted for completion by 2022.

Mr Lucas Loh, President (China & Investment Management), CapitaLand Group, said: “The timely acquisition of our newest mixed-use site in Guangzhou will strengthen and diversify CapitaLand’s portfolio to capture the new wave of growth in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It also marks CapitaLand’s foray into Guangzhou’s booming office market. Including this latest acquisition and the two prime residential sites in Zengcheng District added in August, CapitaLand will have a diverse pipeline of multi asset types in Guangzhou coming onstream between 2021 and 2022. In China this year, CapitaLand has to-date divested close to S$2 billion worth of assets; and made investments into new higher-yielding assets valued at S$1.05 billion. CapitaLand will continue with our disciplined investment strategy to augment our land bank in fast-growing Chinese cities on a sustainable basis, while targeting an optimal mix between trading and investment properties.”

Guangzhou Science City is a key component of China’s plans to turn the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from a strong manufacturing base into a science and technology powerhouse. It is currently home to more than 110 Fortune-500 companies and over 380 research and development facilities. The modern multi-functional science park is accessible via Metro Line 6 and upcoming Metro Line 21; and is a short 30-minute drive from Pearl River New Town CBD. CapitaLand’s site circles a hill park in the heart of Guangzhou Science City, surrounded by major tech companies such as Alibaba, Intel, Samsung, Microsoft and IBM.

Mr Puah Tze Shyang, Chief Investment Officer, CapitaLand China, said: “Growing demand for office space in Guangzhou Science City, underpinned by Guangzhou’s push to attract innovation and tech companies, has led to a historical low vacancy and growing rents in the core business area. Given its strategic location and premium specifications, our new site is well-positioned to capture the influx of businesses, research institutions and technopreneurs attracted to China’s Silicon Valley. Leveraging CapitaLand’s international track record and cross-sectoral expertise, we are confident of transforming the site into a unique hill-side integrated development to fulfil the intertwined work, live and play aspirations of our customers in one central location.”

Including the acquisition in Guangzhou Science City, CapitaLand currently owns/manages 45 developments across eight cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This quality portfolio of four integrated developments (including Raffles City Shenzhen), 10 residential developments, four shopping malls and 27 serviced residences in the Greater Bay Area, will further anchor the Group’s growth as the region draws more investments and talents.

Launched in March 2017, the Greater Bay Area project aims to integrate Guangzhou and 10 other cities along Pearl River Delta into a massive economic cluster with 56,000 square kilometres of land and around 70 million people. The integration will be supported by cross-border transport infrastructure such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong express rail link. In 2017, the combined GDP of these 11 cities was RMB10.53 trillion, about the same as South Korea. Economic growth for nine of the 11 cities was at least 7%, outperforming the national average of 6.9%. Positioned as the world’s largest Bay Area economy, it has the potential to become the largest banking cluster by 2025.

In 2017, Guangzhou achieved a strong 7.5% economic growth, becoming the fourth Chinese city after Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen to record a GDP exceeding RMB2 trillion. Guangzhou is part of the five core city clusters under CapitaLand’s China strategy, which comprises Beijing/Tianjin, Shanghai/Hangzhou/Suzhou/Ningbo, Guangzhou/Shenzhen, Chengdu/Chongqing/Xi’an, and Wuhan.

About CapitaLand Limited (www.capitaland.com)
CapitaLand is one of Asia’s largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, it is an owner and manager of a global portfolio worth over S$93 billion as at 30 June 2018, comprising integrated developments, shopping malls, lodging, offices, homes, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and funds. Present across more than 150 cities in over 30 countries, the Group focuses on Singapore and China as core markets, while it continues to expand in markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia. CapitaLand’s competitive advantage is its significant asset base and extensive market network.

Coupled with extensive design, development and operational capabilities, the Group develops and manages high-quality real estate products and services. It also has one of the largest investment management businesses in Asia and a stable of five REITs listed in Singapore and Malaysia – CapitaLand Mall Trust, CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Ascott Residence Trust, CapitaLand Retail China Trust and CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust.

CapitaLand Limited
168 Robinson Road
Singapore 068912

This release was published on openPR.