CapitaLand divests three malls in Japan, office building in Korea
The divestments bring CapitaLand and its real estate investment trusts’ (REITs) total gross value of divestments to $3.02 billion, exceeding its annual target of recycling $3 billion of capital.
CapitaLand has divested three malls in Japan as well as an office building in Korea for a total of $448.7 million as part of the company’s reconstitution strategy.
In an SGX filing, CapitaLand revealed that it has sold La Park Mizue and Vivit Minami-Funabashi within Greater Tokyo as well as CO-OP Kobe Nishinomiya Higashi within Greater Osaka for a total of 21.99 billion yen ($283.6 million).
It also sold ICON Yeoksam for 142.2 billion won ($165.1 million) in August this year. The office building was held by CapitaLand via a private fund, Ascendas Korea Office Private Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). CapitaLand will continue to be the asset manager of the building and will continue to receive fee income.
The divestments were all above valuation, with the buyers being unrelated third parties.
The divestments bring CapitaLand and its real estate investment trusts’ (REITs) total gross value of divestments to $3.02 billion, exceeding its annual target of recycling $3 billion of capital.
CapitaLand and its REITs have invested over $3.30 billion to new assets as at 30 November.
Meanwhile, CapitaLand said it has also made its first foray into Japan’s logistics sector.
This comes after CapitaLand entered into a joint venture with Mitsui & Co Real Estate to develop and operate a logistic project within Greater Tokyo, with CapitaLand as the majority partner.
Located close to Central Tokyo, the four-storey logistics facility will have a gross floor area of around 24,000 sq m and is set to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“The divestment of these mature malls and office asset is part of CapitaLand’s capital recycling strategy to unlock value by reinvesting the capital into new growth opportunities such as the logistics sector in Japan,” said Jason Leow, President, Singapore & International, CapitaLand Group.
“By paring down our exposure in Japan’s retail sector and leveraging our logistics experience in markets such as Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom to expand into the new economy sector in Japan, we are responding swiftly to shifting market trends and consumer behaviours, positioning CapitaLand for future growth.”
CapitaLand International CEO Gerald Yong noted that the Japan’s logistic sector presents CapitaLand with significant opportunities.
“The global pandemic has accelerated the growth of e-commerce and the logistics sector has been a prime beneficiary of this trend,” he said.
“We aim to achieve meaningful scale over time by leveraging Mitsui & Co. Real Estate Ltd’s local knowledge and access to business opportunities to grow our logistics portfolio in Japan.”
Source: CommercialGuru, 1 Dec 2020