CapitaLand still eyeing mall opportunities in Mainland China

China’s nationwide lockdown to combat Covid-19 and provisions for tenant relief saw CapitaLand Retail China Trust’s net property income slip in the June half-year. The trust’s manager, CapitaLand Retail China Trust Management has reported an NPI of US$47 million, down 17.9 percent on the same period a year earlier.

The figure also reflected the absence of a contribution from CapitaMall Erqi after its master lease ended last December and its subsequent sale in May. New contributions from CapitaMall Yuhuating, CapitaMall Xuefu, and CapitaMall Aidemengdun, purchased last August, offset some of that reduction.

CRCTML CEO Tan Tze Wooi said the trust’s enlarged portfolio recorded a 25.9-per-cent quarter-on-quarter improvement in shopper traffic for the three months to June, with tenants’ sales up by 23.7 percent over the same period.

After a 6.8-per-cent contraction in China’s GDP in the March quarter, the government stepped up economic stimulus measures in the second leading to a 3.2-per-cent increase.

“China’s policy focus to support businesses and boost domestic consumption has bode well for the retail sector’s recovery.”

Meanwhile, the trust’s Yuquan Mall, currently undergoing fit-out, is on track to open at the end of this year, with about 70 percent of space leased already.

The CEO said the trust was continuing to look for acquisitions to boost the Mainland China portfolio.