CapitaLand to manage two more malls in China

PROPERTY group CapitaLand has clinched two new mall management contracts in the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Chengdu.

The group said before Tuesday's trading hours that its shopping mall business, CapitaLand Retail, will manage the retail component of The Grand City, a landmark integrated development in Wanbo CBD in Panyu District , on behalf of Guangzhou Wan Shun Investment Management Co Ltd. On winning this contract, CapitaLand is adding a third mall in Guangzhou. Its retail network in South China now spans a total retail GFA (gross floor area) of 3.6 million square feet.

Separately, Chengdu Lide Commercial Industrial Co has appointed CapitaLand to manage an open-lane, low-rise shopping mall in Qingyang District. This mall is less than two kilometres from the iconic Tianfu Square in Chengdu's city centre. This latest addition is CapitaLand's seventh mall in Chengdu. CapitaLand now owns and manages 11 malls with 11.3 million square feet of retail GFA in western China.

Wilson Tan, CEO of CapitaLand Retail, said: "Since announcing in August 2016 our intent to grow our retail footprint through management contracts, CapitaLand has signed 10 agreements with a total GFA of about 5.3 million sq ft. The growth momentum attests to the scalability and the value of CapitaLand's best-in-class retail operating platform.

"With these new contracts, CapitaLand will further strengthen our leasing synergies across the portfolio of malls and increase our reach to the high-growth retail markets in Guangzhou and Chengdu. Including these two managed malls, 47 of our 51 malls in China are located in first and second-tier cities. This is in line with our commitment to grow our retail portfolio with a focus on dominant assets located in core cities clusters."

This year, CapitaLand targets to open five malls in China, spanning a total retail GFA of about 4.2 million sq ft. They are CapitaMall LuOne and Alibaba Shanghai Center in Shanghai, CapitaMall Tiangongyuan in Beijing, CapitaMall 180 in Foshan and CapitaMall ONE in Changsha.

Mr Tan remarked: "CapitaLand continues to be positive about China's retail sector, which is experiencing growth in both offline and online sales. Our expansion strategy enables CapitaLand to seize growth opportunities with agility while reaping economies of scale. We will continue to identify opportunities to grow our retail operating platform, reinforcing our position as the region's leading mall operator and complement CapitaLand's core business of owning and developing shopping malls."

CapitaLand closed at S$3.35 on Monday, down four Singapore cents.