CapitaLand sells Bedok Mall

CapitaLand has sold its 18 month old Bedok Mall in Singapore to a trust.

CapitaLand subsidiaries Brilliance Residential and CMA Singapore Investments have entered into a sale and purchase agreement with HSBC Institutional Trust Services, trustee of CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT), for the sale of the entire unitholding interest of Brilliance Mall Trust, which owns Bedok Mall. The sale is based on an agreed value of Bedok Mall of S$780.0 million and other net assets of Brilliance Mall Trust of about S$3.1 million. At the last valuation commissioned by CapitaLand, Bedok Mall was valued at S$775 million.

Opened in December 2013 on New Upper Changi Rd, Bedok Mall has a net lettable area of 222,464 sq ft and is 99.3 per cent leased. Anchor tenants include Fairprice Finest, Uniqlo, Best Denki, Canton Paradise, Popular, McDonald’s and Din Tai Fung.

It is the first major mall in the heart of Bedok Town Centre, serving Singapore’s largest estate of about 300,000 residents as well as other residents in the east of Singapore. It is part of an integrated retail-residential-transport development, which also includes the 583-unit condominium Bedok Residences developed by CapitaLand that received its Temporary Occupancy Permit in May 2015. The mall’s Basement 2 is directly linked to the Bedok MRT station while the new air-conditioned Bedok bus interchange, which began operations in January, is integrated with the mall on Level 2.

Lim Ming Yan, president and group CEO of CapitaLand, said the proposed divestment, which remains subject to unitholder approval, as well as the ongoing divestment of a group of serviced residences and rental housing properties to Ascott Residence Trust and CapitaLand’s 30 per cent stake in PWC Building announced last month, are all examples of the company’s “robust capital recycling strategy”.

“These transactions allow us to realise our investment value and development profit, and enhance our financial flexibility as we redeploy our capital into other ventures that will generate stronger returns for our shareholders.”

Jason Leow, CEO of CapitaLand Mall Asia, said his company will continue to manage Bedok Mall.

“We remain confident in the retail growth prospects in Singapore where we are the market leader with the largest network of 20 shopping malls. We are committed to the Singapore retail market and continue to be on the lookout for suitable new opportunities in Singapore and the region as we seek to strengthen our leadership position as Asia’s leading shopping mall developer, owner and manager.”