CapitaLand Limited, one of the largest real estate firms in Asia, intends to have its wholly-owned subsidiary, CapitaLand Retail Limited, listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
CapitaLand (SGX: C31), a property developer headquartered in Singapore, will channel its real estate investment trust (REIT) management business and retail real estate fund into the new business entity.
CapitaLand Retail Ltd will be renamed to CapitaMalls Asia and its portfolio will include 86 retail properties located throughout five Asian countries. CapitaLand reported that the proposed entity has a total property value of approximately US$14.4 billion or S$20.3 billion.
“The proposed listing of CapitaMalls Asia is consistent with CapitaLand Group’s approach of optimizing business growth with prudent capital management,” said CapitaLand’s Chairman Hu Tsu Tau, Richard. “This transaction is also a logical evolution of CapitaLand’s business model and will allow us to accelerate our next phase of growth.”
CapitaLand’s head honchos will be holding an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to assay acquisition of shareholders’ commendation for the new entity’s SGX listing.
CapitaLand intends to put a portion of its stake in CapitaMalls Asia up for sale to guarantee that its stock has “sufficient trading liquidity” while waiting for shareholders’ approval. The developer will continue to hold majority control over the unit subsequent to the share sale and will continue to do so for the “foreseeable future.”
Following the initial sale of the shares of stock, CapitaLand said it might propose a special dividend for shareholders.
CapitaLand Ltd, whose shares of stock were halted prior to the announcement, rose 0.3 percent to $3.67 on October 2’s trading. CapitaRetail China Trust dropped 0.8 percent to $1.19, whilst CapitaMall Trust fell 2.7 percent to $1.82. Both CapitaMall Trust and CapitaRetail China Trust were also suspended.