Hongkong Land shares close 3.5% down following news of S$8 billion real estate fund

[SINGAPORE] Shares of Hongkong Land soared as much as 5.5 per cent after the company announced plans to inject its interests in One Raffles Quay, Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Towers 1 and 2 into a new real estate fund.

The counter rose as high as US$7.31 by 9.31 am on Friday (Dec 12), climbing US$0.38 from its previous closing price. It pared some of the gains to be 2.9 per cent up at US$7.13 by the midday trading break. The company’s shares ended the day 3.5 per cent or US$0.24 lower at US$7.17.

On Thursday, Keppel Reit announced it was buying Hongkong Land’s one-third stake in MBFC Tower 3. In response, shares of the company rose 5.5 per cent or US$0.36, ending Thursday at US$6.93.

The new fund, called the Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF), is expected to hold more than S$8 billion in assets under management at inception. That will make it the biggest private real estate fund in Singapore.

SCPREF will focus exclusively on managing prime commercial property asset and is in line with Hongkong Land’s goals to grow its total assets under management to US$100 billion by 2035.