Singapore-listed CapitaLand has agreed to sell the Star Vista mall in Singapore for S$296m (US$217m), as part of the firm’s asset recycling program.
CapitaLand, which has S$131.7bn in assets under management, sold the 15-storey integrated development to Rock Productions, which owns the Star Performing Arts Centre within the same development.
The Star Vista (source: CapitaLand)
The Star Vista features three levels of retail space, offering 162,500 sq.ft. of net lettable space, as well as a 5,000-seat auditorium, according to CapitaLand.
The asset was last valued at S$262m in June this year. CapitaLand is expecting net proceeds of S$145m from the sale, as well as a net gain of about S$32m.
“The divestment of the Star Vista is in line with CapitaLand’s active and disciplined asset recycling strategy,” said Jason Leow, president, Singapore and international at CapitaLand.
“Year to date, CapitaLand has divested close to S$5.7bn worth of assets, exceeding our annual target divestment of S$3bn.”
CapitaLand will own 19 malls, including one under development, in Singapore once the deal has finalised, which is expected by the end of the year.
The Star Vista (source: CapitaLand)
The mall, located next to Buona Vista MRT interchange, opened in September 2012 and has a 95% occupancy rate, as of end-June this year.
The Star Vista is occupied by Beauty in the Pot and LeNu, Canton Paradise Teahouse, Redman by Phoon Huat, Swee Lee and other tenants.
The deal is the latest for Singapore, which has recently emerged as a star performer among Asia Pacific’s commercial real estate markets.
Singapore CRE investment climbed 62% YOY to $2.6bn in Q3 this year, and is up 69% to $7.5bn for the first nine months of 2019, according to Real Capital Analytics.
The transaction follow recent direct and indirect retail property deals in the city-state such as the US$383m Chinatown Point Mall deal in April and Frasers Property’s US$263m acquisition of a retail property fund stake in February.
CapitaLand has made a number of disposals across its international portfolio this year, including three malls in the Chinese provincial capital cities of Harbin and Changsha for US$428m in June.
The firm also divested the Innov Center in Shanghai’s Yangpu district to its maiden discretionary fund for about US$451m in May, as well as its interests in Singapore’s largest self-storage business, StorHub, for US$136m in April.
CapitaLand is headquartered in Singapore and is one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups, with a presence across more than 200 cities in over 30 countries.