Straits Trading unit buys into Tokyo residential property

THE Straits Trading Company Limited said on Friday that its real estate arm Straits Real Estate (SRE) has acquired a 98.5 per cent stake of the distributions from a residential property in Tokyo, Japan for 448 million yen or S$5.41 million.

Located in Nerima-ku in Tokyo, this property has a net lettable area of about 1,999 square metres comprising 96 apartment units with an occupancy rate of 99 per cent as at Aug 31.

Surrounded by various schools and local amenities, the property is strategically located within nine minutes' walk from both Sakuradai Station and Shin-Egota Station which provide access to the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and the Toei Oedo Line, respectively.

Straits Trading said that this transaction is in line with its strategy to redeploy capital from its existing property portfolio of high quality but low yielding investment properties into higher yielding real estate opportunities through SRE.

The property was completed in May 1991, and its façade and lobby areas were refurbished in 2015. It appeals strongly to corporates and young professionals, and provides diversification from SRE's existing residential portfolio.

The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on the earnings per share and net tangible asset per share of the group for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2017.