Mapletree set to harness China’s real estate trends with successful Mapletree Business City and VivoCity brands

From left to right:

1. Mr James Ng, General Manager of Shanghai Lingfeng Real Estate Development Co.,Ltd
2. Mr Shi Bingdi, Party Secretary of Xinzhuang Town
3. Mr Wong Mun Hoong, Group Chief Financial Officer of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd
4. Mr Cai Xiaoqing, Deputy Mayor of Minhang District
5. Mr Hiew Yoon Khong, Group Chief Executive Officer of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd
6. Mr Sun Chao, Party Secretary of Minhang District
7. Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd
8. Mr Tsang Yam Pui, Board Member of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd
9. Mr Dai Hua, Deputy Mayor and Party Committee Member of Minhang District
10. Mr Yu Yong, Deputy Mayor of Minhang District
11. Mr Quek Kwang Meng, Regional Chief Executive Officer, China and India, Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd
12. Mr Loh Shyh, Chief Executive Officer, China, Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd

Shanghai, China – Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd (“Mapletree” or “the Group”) today celebrated the groundbreaking of the Mapletree Minhang Development Project, its largest single investment in China to date worth about RMB 5 billion. The development of the mixed-use commercial centre is in line with Mapletree’s growth strategy in China, and significantly provides further headway to scale up the Group’s presence in the market. Officials from the Municipal Government of Minhang District together with Mapletree’s Board and senior management attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

Building on the success of two signature Mapletree brands and flagship developments – Mapletree Business City and VivoCity – the Mapletree Minhang Development Project will comprise a franchise of both the award-winning Singapore developments. Spanning a total gross floor area of 297,000 square metres (“sqm”), the integrated commercial cum retail development is strategically located within the fast-emerging Xinzhuang business district in Minhang. Being sited at the fringe of Shanghai’s central business district (CBD), the large-scale development will enjoy excellent connectivity to the Hongqiao airport as well as benefit from the accessibility provided by the High Speed Rail Station. Furthermore, being located at the intersection of two new subway lines will provide the Mapletree Minhang Development Project with extensive connectivity to all parts of Shanghai.

Riding the trends of China’s sustained economic growth, continued rapid urbanisation and the resultant decentralisation of concentrated areas, Mapletree seeks to capitalise and respond to the emerging demand for high quality and cost-effective Grade-A office alternatives outside the Shanghai CBD area by catering to the fast expansion needs of both MNCs and large domestic office tenants. Against this backdrop, the Mapletree Business City will provide 200,000 sqm of Grade-A office space, which will accommodate a working population of up to 20,000. It will be further complemented with quality facilities and environmentally sustainable features. At the same time, VivoCity will more than offer full-scale retail, food and beverage, and service amenities to the office tenants of Mapletree Business City. It is also set to be a choiced lifestyle and entertainment destination to over 300,000 residents within a three kilometre radius. The mall will feature over 280 shops, including a mega hypermarket and a cinema and house Shanghai city’s largest open-air rooftop garden which also serves as an amphitheatre for entertainment and relaxation.

Mr Hiew Yoon Khong, Mapletree’s Group Chief Executive Officer said, “With the Mapletree Minhang Development Project, the Group replicates our expertise for mixed-use developments and once again exports our signature brands to China – already established in Xi’an and Nanhai. This attests to the success of Mapletree’s business model as an Asia-focused, real estate developer, investor and capital manager, and also underscores our commitment to our expansion plans across all real estate asset classes in China.”

Greater China is Mapletree’s largest overseas market to date, with a total asset under management (“AUM”) of SGD 5.7 billion, or RMB 28.6 billion as of 31 March 2012. Since establishing a presence in China in 2005, Mapletree’s business strategy has advanced from acquiring and developing logistics properties for its capital management platform, Mapletree Logistics Trust, to developing mixed-use residential and commercial properties such as Future City (Xi’an) and Nanhai Business City (Nanhai).

More recently, the Group has boosted its track record in the full value cycle of acquiring, managing and divesting quality real estate to grow. Mapletree acquired Gateway Plaza in Beijing through its sponsored private equity platform, Mapletree India China Fund (“MIC Fund”) in 2010 and subsequently, on its own, Festival Walk in Hong Kong SAR in 2011 and actively improved the occupancy and tenancy of the assets before divesting both to its capital management platform, the Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust which was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in March 2013.

On the real estate development front, the Group is also developing the South Station Enterprise City Station, the first and largest premium business park to be built within Guangzhou South Railway Station economic circle. Together with the Minhang Development Project, Mapletree is poised to continue strengthening its development know-how in China.

The Minhang Development project is jointly developed by Mapletree and MIC Fund. MIC Fund is a dual-country total return fund established to maximise returns by acquiring, developing and realising real estate projects in India and China. With a fund size of USD1.157 billion, MIC fund primarily invests in commercial, residential and mixed-use property developments projects in Tier 1 and 2 cities to harness the urbanisation trend and the increasing consumption of the growing middle-class in India and China. As at 31 March 2012, the fund has been fully invested, with its portfolio comprising six assets – five in China and one in India, well in advance of the expiry of its investment period in April 2013.

The development will be constructed in three phases – Mapletree Business City in Phase 1 and 3, and VivoCity in Phase 2. The development will be the first large-scale commercial and retail development of its kind in the district when completed. Works for Phase 1 is expected to commence in the first half of 2013, and be completed in 2015.

ABOUT MAPLETREE MINHANG DEVELOPMENT PROJECT