Singapore – Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd (“Mapletree”) is pleased to announce today that its newly established private real estate fund, Mapletree India-China Fund (MIC Fund) has signed an agreement with Guangdong Southern-Donald Scientific Technology Co., Ltd (GSDST), to jointly develop a 9-hectare mixed-use development in Nanhai District of Foshan City in Guangdong Province. The joint venture will be on an 80%:20% basis with MIC Fund having 80%. Incorporating an integrated development of seven blocks of high-end service apartments and a retail mall with a total development value of about US$320 million, this project marks MIC Fund’s third investment to-date.

MIC Fund is a dual-country total return fund which aims to capitalise on the huge growth potential of the economy and population in India and China. It focuses largely on the investment, and development of office, retail and residential real estate within these two mega emerging markets. It has a targeted fund size of about US$1.5 billion. At its recent first close, Mapletree and an international institutional investor have each committed US$500 million to the fund, with US$300 million each at the first close and the balance at second close. The fund’s first project in China is Future City, an integrated residential and retail development in Beilin District, Xi’an with a total development value of about US$72 million. Its second investment is an existing office block in Beijing’s Central Business District with an investment value of about US$121 million. Together with this latest project in Nanhai, the total combined value of MIC Fund’s portfolio is now about US$449 million.

The agreement signed with GSDST involves the first phase of a larger project to comprehensively develop a 33-hectare site into a modern, integrated business, living and leisure/retail precinct. To be called Nanhai Business City, Phase 1 of this project includes seven blocks of high-rise service apartments and a retail mall.

To fulfill the vision of Nanhai Business City as an integrated development for ‘work, live and play’, a business park will be developed in Phase 2 of the project. This business park will be developed along the lines of Mapletree’s new Mapletree Business City in Singapore, which is accommodating the middle offices, back-room processing, data and R&D centres of global financial institutions and multi-national companies. Nanhai Business City is expected to be developed over five to eight years.

Mr Hiew Yoon Khong, CEO of Mapletree said, “The Nanhai Business City is an exciting project because of the tremendous potential of Foshan city and in particular, the Nanhai District. As Mapletree’s first development in the South China/Pearl River Delta, this project gives us the opportunity to tap into the growing affluence in southern China and the urbanisation growth trends out of major cities to surrounding areas. This project is also a platform for Mapletree to transfer our expertise and skills in developing large integrated projects to overseas markets by leveraging on our partnership with a strong local partner.”

“We are pleased to harness the dynamic growth of India and China, two of the world’s fastest growing economies through this new Mapletree India-China Fund. We are confident that the demand for residential, business and commercial real estate in these two markets will continue to grow, driven by rapid urbanization, strong economic growth and rising purchasing power by a growing middle class, “he added.

More about the Nanhai Project

The mixed-use development in Nanhai District is located in Foshan City, in China’s southern Guangdong Province. The development enjoys good accessibility as it is within a 15 and 5-minute drive to Foshan downtown and the new Qingdenghu Financial Centre respectively. It is also about 40 minutes drive to the Guangzhou East Train Station and the Guangzhou CBD and an hour’s drive from the Guangzhou Airport and the Nansha Port.

The US$320 million project will be developed in phases on a total land area of about 33- ha. Construction of this project is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2009 and Phase 1 to be completed by the first quarter of 2012.