Sembcorp Industries' urban business forms JV to expand warehousing properties in Vietnam

LISTED conglomerate Sembcorp Industries' urban business has formed a joint-venture company with Japanese property firm CRE Asia, as part of an effort to facilitate the expansion of its warehousing properties in Vietnam.

Sembcorp Industries, in a regulatory filing on Thursday, said that its wholly-owned urban business Sembcorp Development has partnered CRE Asia to form a joint-venture company, Sembcorp Infra Holdings. The joint-venture company, in which Sembcorp Development has an effective ownership of 70 per cent, was incorporated in Singapore with an issued capital of US$100,000.

Sembcorp Infra is the direct holding company of an existing entity, Sembcorp Infra Services.

Sembcorp Infra Services recently increased its share capital via the issuance and allotment of about 6.8 million new ordinary shares at US$1.21 per share to a new joint-venture partner. The statement did not name this partner.

Following the allotment, Sembcorp Development's effective shareholding in Sembcorp Infra Services went down from 70 per cent to 52.5 per cent.

The statement said that these transactions were undertaken to facilitate the expansion of warehousing properties in Sembcorp Development's Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park integrated township and industrial park in Hai Phong City, Vietnam.

These transactions are not expected to have material impact on the earnings per share and net asset value per share of Sembcorp Industries for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2020, added the conglomerate.

Sembcorp Industries shares were down three Singapore cents at  S$1.82 on Thursday, before this announcement was made.