Singapore – Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd (Mapletree) announced today that it has recently signed an Agreement with Lingang International Logistics Development Co. Ltd, to invest in two blocks of warehouses currently under development in Lingang Free Port. This initiative will firmly establish Mapletree’s foothold into one of China’s most important logistics and manufacturing hubs and entrench its leading logistics real estate position in the important and growing Chinese logistics market.
The two blocks of warehouses at Lingang Free Port will have a total Gross Floor Area (GFA) of approximately 46,500 sq m. These will be single-storey buildings with a GFA of about 21,000 sq m and 25,000 sq m respectively.
Lingang Free Port is the first bonded port zone in China that offers the most liberal and favorable investment policies in China. It enjoys the tax and foreign currency benefit of both bonded logistics park and export processing zone. It is an integral part of Lingang New City, a satellite city planned by the Shanghai Municipal Government to support the newly opened Yangshan Deep-water Port and to promote Shanghai as the logistics hub of the region.
The Yangshan Deep-water Port is designed to accommodate the world’s largest container ships and cater for the large increase in container volume to and from Shanghai. By 2010, it will handle 15 million TEUs and will compete with Hong Kong and South Korea’s Busan as northern Asia’s main trans-shipment harbour 1.
1. Based on a Bloomberg report dated 10 December 2005
The two warehouses will have a land lease of 50 years. Construction is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2006 and be completed by the end of the third quarter 2006.
Mr Hiew Yoon Khong, CEO of Mapletree said, “ China is a very important market for us. The logistics market in China is growing rapidly, fuelled by factors such as the liberalization of the logistics market in 2005, China’s 28.5% import/export growth rate in 2005, as well as the forecasted 15% rise in China’s container throughput last year. This agreement will enable Mapletree to tap into China’s burgeoning logistics sector and build up presence in the key logistics hubs in China, to both develop and invest into suitable logistics facilities to service the logistics sector.”
“By undertaking these types of development projects, we are providing a full value chain of real estate solutions to logistics operators as there may be a dearth of ready and good quality facilities currently available to serve their needs. This is in line with our regional strategy to establish Mapletree as a leading real estate company with an Asian focus,” he added.
Provision of Future Pipeline of Logistics Facilities for MapletreeLog
This agreement will also enable Mapletree to provide a future pipeline of well designed and developed logistics properties for acquisition by Mapletree Logistics Trust (MapletreeLog), an Asia-focused logistics real estate investment trust managed by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mapletree Logistics Trust Management Ltd.
As Sponsor, Mapletree will incubate the warehouses and market them. When the facilities become income generating, they will be offered on a first right of refusal basis to MapletreeLog for acquisition within three years from date of completion, on terms and prices to be mutually agreed.
