CapitaLand has gained shareholder approval for plans to list its integrated shopping mall business CapitaMalls Asia, paving the way for its listing by the end of the year.

The new unit will have a portfolio of 86 retail properties valued at S$20.3 billion located across five countries in Asia.

CapitaLand shareholders took time out on Friday morning for an extraordinary general meeting on the group’s plans to list its integrated shopping mall business.

While it was clear that the management enjoyed a nice rapport with investors, there were still some concerns to address.

During the hour-long meeting, shareholders raised questions ranging from the exact dividend payout resulting from the sale, to concerns over a possible conflict of interest between the businesses.

Most shareholders Channel NewsAsia spoke to said they were very satisfied with the responses they received.

“We are glad that as a shareholder, we are given overall view of it (and have) better understanding after the meeting. Things like what will CapitaLand be left with after listing the CapitaMalls Asia… (were) addressed,” said Michael Khoo, a CapitaLand shareholder.

“I’m here to hear about the future prospects, how is it going to be. I think this listing is good, because by having capital, they can make purchases,” said CapitaLand shareholder Teong Chin Poh.

On the special dividend payout, CapitaLand said it would depend on several factors, including the proceeds from the listing and the performance of the CapitaLand Group.

The company also said there would be no impact on the existing trusts that it owns because CapitaMalls Asia is just the new name for an existing retail subsidiary, CapitaLand Retail.

CapitaLand currently also operates CapitaMall Trust (CMT), whose portfolio includes Tampines Mall, Junction 8, Funan DigitaLife Mall, IMM Building, Plaza Singapura and The Atrium@Orchard.

CMT also owns a 20 per cent stake in CapitaRetail China Trust (CRCT), the first pure-play China retail REIT listed on the Singapore Exchange.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 30 Oct 2009

Many looking at market conditions, competition before deciding launch date

By KALPANA RASHIWALA AND UMA SHANKARI

(Singapore)

DEVELOPERS are busy getting projects launch ready. However, whether they release them by this year’s end or next year will depend on market conditions, ‘ground feedback’ from potential buyers and the segment of the market the projects are in.

Far East Organization began previewing its Alba condo at Cairnhill Rise this week. The property giant is believed to have released 18 units up to the seventh floor of the 18-storey freehold condo, which has a total 50 units. The 18 units range from 1,862 to 2,250 sq ft.

Under the project’s ‘white plan’, Far East can customise apartment layouts to suit buyers’ preferences. The developer told BT that prices start from $2,400 psf. Alba comprises a single Y-shaped tower; most floors will have three units per floor although there are two levels in the development with just one unit per floor.

Oxley Land also began previewing Suites@Guillemard at Lim Ah Woo Road yesterday. The five-storey freehold project comprises 72 units, of which 45 are smallish one-bedders of 258-527 sq ft. The smallest unit is said to have been snapped up at about $400,000. As of 6pm yesterday, more than 50 units in the project were said to have been sold. The average price is believed to be about $1,000 psf. No interest absorption scheme (IAS) was offered.

Other developers will also be rolling out projects with smaller units. Frasers Centrepoint chief executive Lim Ee Seng said that the company’s upcoming project in Serangoon, Residences Botanique, will have a large number of small units to cater to increased demand for such homes. ‘I do see a lot of young people buying,’ said Mr Lim, adding that many such buyers are looking for smaller apartments, which are more affordable for them.

Developers say they will study market conditions carefully before going ahead with launch plans.

City Developments’ residential launches planned for the rest of the year include the 228-unit The Quayside Isle Collection at Sentosa Cove and a condo on the former Albany site at Thomson Road with about 160 units. A spokeswoman said the developer will consider market conditions and the readiness of the project before deciding whether to launch in Q4 2009 or wait until next year.

CapitaLand said its 165-unit condo on the former Char Yong Gardens site will be launch ready by the end of the year. But, it could not confirm if the project will definitely be launched by end-2009.

EL Development’s managing director Lim Yew Soon said that his company will consider various factors before deciding to launch a project. ‘Is the current market valuation able to support the expected launch price? If yes, we can proceed. If no, we will have to either lower our launch price or defer the launch till the market valuation increases,’ he said.

‘Are there any other projects in the vicinity that are also launching soon? If possible, we’ll try to avoid launching on the same weekend to avoid competition.’ Mr Lim is aiming to roll out EL Development’s next project, at Stevens Close, in Q2 next year.

Savills Singapore managing director Michael Ng reckoned that generally developers are likely to launch mass- and mid-market projects this year, and restock their landbank in these segments next year when the government resumes sales of sites from the confirmed list.

However, developers are unlikely to be in a hurry to sell off their luxury residential projects since it will be harder for them to find replacement land, given the more difficult regime currently for collective sales, Mr Ng argued.

‘The luxury segment will improve much more in the next 12 months with the influx of more high networth buyers, particularly from Asia this round,’ he said.

According to Urban Redevelopment Authority data, the stock of yet-to-be sold units from all projects with pre-requisites for sale has shrunk from over 18,000 units as at the end of last year to 14,791 as at end-Aug this year. The figure includes unsold units in launched or partly launched projects as well as developments that have yet to be launched.

Of the 14,791-unit supply at end-Aug, 44.3 per cent or 6,551 units are in Core Central Region); with 4,745 units in Rest of Central Region and 3,495 units or 23.6 per cent in Outside Central Region, where suburban condos are located. However, there is more supply in the pipeline. At end-Q2 2009, there were 23,354 unsold units for which developers had obtained planning approvals but not bagged the pre-requisites for sale, though these can be secured in a relatively short time. A further supply of about 2,000 private homes can be built on five reserve list sites triggered recently.

SC Global sells units at $3,100-$3,400 psf at the exclusive 4-storey project

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

SINGAPORE) Upmarket developer SC Global Developments is said to have sold six units at its Seven Palms at Sentosa Cove condo at between $3,100 per square foot (psf) and $3,400 psf – record prices for the upscale waterfront housing district.

On a lump-sum basis, the three and four-bedroom units were sold at about $9 million to $15 million each.

All units in the four-storey development will face either Tanjong Beach next door, or the sea or the Tanjong Golf Course at the Sentosa Golf Club.

Singaporeans are understood to have picked up two of the six units sold recently, with Singapore permanent residents buying the other four.

Market watchers reckon SC Global is probably looking at a project-average price of about $3,500 psf for Seven Palms at Sentosa Cove. The condo will comprise just 41 units.

Standard apartment sizes range from about 2,750 sq ft to 6,500 sq ft.

BT understands that the biggest unit in the 99-year-leasehold project, an 8,000-sq-ft penthouse, has a price tag of about $25 million to $30 million.

Prior to this, the highest median price achieved by a developer of a Sentosa Cove condo was $2,734 psf seen at Lippo Group’s Marina Collection, which was released in late 2007.

The highest price fetched for a unit in that development was $2,917 psf, for a fourth-floor unit that sold for just over $9.8 million in December 2007.

Property consultants were generally not surprised at the record price achieved for Seven Palms, given the project’s unique positioning.

‘This will be the only condo on Sentosa Cove with direct access to a beach. And SC Global has established a track record of being able to command a premium to the market for its project,’ said CB Richard Ellis executive director (residential) Joseph Tan.

‘We’re seeing big-ticket transactions coming back to the market. For example, there are more of the $4.5 million to $12 million per apartment deals again as the bottom-up property recovery spreads to the luxury residential sector,’ he added.

Seven Palms is designed by Kerry Hill Architects, which has designed many of the Aman resorts.

SC Global clinched the 113,797-sq-ft plot, which was marketed as the Beachfront Collection, at a tender conducted by Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL) and which closed in July 2007.

Its top bid of $268.3 million worked out to nearly $1,800 psf per plot ratio. Assuming a breakeven cost of about $2,400 psf, SC Global’s pre-tax profit from the development would be more than $170 million.

The plot has a 1.31 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and a four-storey height limit. The maximum number of apartments allowed by SCPL – the district’s master planner – is 88 units.

However, SC Global has opted to build less than half that number, but with bigger units.

All penthouses and ground-floor apartments come with their own swimming pool and each unit in the project has a private lift. Housing in the immediate neighbourhood is bungalows.

Far East sells 12 units at Alba in Cairnhill at average $2,300 psf

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

HO Bee Investment will preview its Trilight condo at Newton Road this week at an average price of about $1,650 per sq ft, the group’s chairman and CEO Chua Thian Poh told BT yesterday.

Ho Bee will not offer an interest absorption scheme (IAS) for the 30-storey freehold condominium project, located on the highest point in the Newton area.

The $1,650 psf average price will be for an initial batch of 60 units. The condo will have a total 205 units, up from 152 planned initially. The increase results from Ho Bee’s decision to introduce two-bedroom units and reduce the number of four-bedders. Previously Trilight had only three- and four-bedroom apartments.

The latest scheme comprises 104 two-bedroom units ranging from 1,109 to 1,227 sq ft; 74 three-bedders in two sizes (2,099 and 2,110 sq ft) and 24 four-bedroom apartments of 2,336 sq ft. Trilight will have three penthouses – two units of 5,200 sq ft and one of 5,800 sq ft.

The typical two-bedder will cost under $2 million.

CB Richard Ellis and DTZ will market the project.

Market watchers say the $1,650 psf average price is within the range of recent transactions in the area. In nearby Bukit Timah Road, units at Ferrell Residences sold for between $1,556 psf and $1,931 psf in July-August.

And Madison Residences nearby sold at $1,567-1,745 psf in August, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority information on developer sales.

The high-end housing market is stirring again after Hungry Ghost Month. Far East Organization has sold a dozen units over the past couple of weeks at its Alba project in Cairnhill Rise. The unit sizes are 1,862, 2,066 and 2,250 sq ft.

They are among a clutch of 18 units Far East released on the second to seventh levels of the 18-storey freehold condo, which has a total of 50 units. The average price achieved for the 12 units sold is $2,300 psf, with the highest price being $2,500 psf.

Under the freehold project’s ‘white plan’, Far East can customise apartment layouts to suit buyers’ preferences.