Keppel, Mapletree not likely to sell swapped HarbourFront assets to their Reits for now

ABOUT five months after they completed a share swap involving their jointly owned office assets in the HarbourFront area - which resulted in Mapletree Investments gaining full control of HarbourFront Towers 1 and 2 and Keppel Group having full ownership of Keppel Bay Tower - one wonders whether the two groups would now go on to offer these assets to their respective Reits (real estate investment trusts).

Under the deal to unwind their cross-holdings, Keppel Group (Keppel Corporation and Keppel Land) sold its 39 per cent interest in the company that holds HarbourFront Towers 1 and 2 to Mapletree. In return, Mapletree sold to Keppel Group its 30 stake in the company that holds Keppel Bay Tower.

The cross-holdings traced back to the late 1990s when Keppel formed a joint venture with PSA Corporation for the development of two new 18-storey buildings on either side of the then Cable Car Tower, which was also refurbished.