Month: August 2007
Parkway Life – SGX
Pursuant to Regulation 3(13) of the Securities and Futures (Market Conduct) (Exemptions) Regulations 2006, UBS AG, acting through its business group, UBS Investment Bank, as stabilising
manager designated in connection with the Offering, wishes to announce that it has purchased a total of 1,731,000 Units at a price of S$1.19 per Unit on 28 August, 2007.
MMP – SGX
COMPLETION OF ACQUISITION OF RETAIL PROPERTY IN CHENGDU
Further to the announcements of 22 August 2007 and 23 August 2007, Macquarie Pacific Star Prime REIT Management Limited (“Manager”), the Manager of Macquarie MEAG Prime Real Estate Investment Trust (“MMP REIT”), is pleased to announce that HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Limited, the Trustee of MMP REIT (“Trustee”), has today completed the indirect acquisition of Renhe Spring Department Store in Chengdu, China (the “Property”).
The total purchase price of RMB350 million (equivalent to S$70 million) and other acquisition costs have been fully funded by debt.
Pursuant to the Business Cooperation Agreement dated 28 August 2007 between PRC WFOE and Chengdu Renhe Spring Department Store Co., Ltd (“Rendong”), the property management functions in respect of the Property will be carried out by Rendong.
With the completion of this acquisition, MMP REIT’s portfolio has been enlarged and comprises nine assets located in Singapore, Japan and China, valued in aggregate at approximately S$1.8 billion.
MMP – SGX
SGX-ST Announcement
ESTABLISHMENT OF WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY
The Trustee is the sole shareholder of the SPV and beneficially entitled to the entire issued share capital of the SPV, which is comprised in US$2.00.
None of the directors of the Manager, nor of the controlling unitholders of MMP REIT, has any interest, direct or indirect, in the above transaction.
MI-REIT – BT
MI-Reit to expand into offices and technology parks
THE fourth listed industrial real estate investment trust (Reit) – MacarthurCook Industrial Reit – is extending its investments into offices and technology parks. MI-Reit yesterday announced that it has agreed to buy Plot 4A, International Business Park from Eurochem Corporation (a member of Tolaram Group), for $91 million. This is a 13-storey office park building with a basement car park located in Jurong East’s International Business Park.
MI-Reit’s first investment in offices or technology parks brings it a 20 per cent exposure to the sector.
According to Jones Lang LaSalle Research’s Asia-Pacific Property Digest for Q2 2007, business park rents grew 30 per cent in the quarter while capital values grew 8 per cent.
‘The strongest rental growth of all industrial sub-sectors will be in this sub-category, principally as a result of the tight office supply situation causing a spillover effect as Central Business District tenants relocate to suburban office parks such as the International Business Park,’ said Chris Calvert, CEO of MacarthurCook Investment Managers (Asia), which manages the Reit.
Under this sale and leaseback arrangement, Eurochem – a Singapore- based company in the petrochemical sector – will sign a head lease over the entire facility for 10 years, with an option to extend for another five years.
This will start from the date of completion, scheduled for December 2009.
Mr Calvert added that the acquisition will increase the size of the portfolio from the initial value of $316.2 million at the time of listing in April, to $407.2 million upon completion of the acquisition.
MI-Reit said the purchase will extend its average weighted lease expiry duration from 6.3 years to seven.
To be funded wholly by debt, other alternative funding sources will also be considered, said the manager. MI-Reit’s gearing level will increase from its current 8.6 per cent to 29.1 per cent, assuming 100 per cent debt financing and that there are no other acquisitions between now and settlement of the property.
MI-Reit’s initial portfolio comprised 12 industrial assets across Singapore, the largest of which is UE Technology Park, which was acquired for $115 million.
At the date of listing, the initial properties in MI-Reit had a combined value of $316.2 million.
The Reit invests primarily in industrial real estate assets in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and China.
Last month, the Reit reported a distributable income of $3.9 million for its first quarter ended June 30 – 2.9 per cent higher than the forecast $3.8 million. Distribution per unit (DPU) also beat expectations, coming to 1.52 cents, which was 3 per cent higher than the forecast DPU of 1.47 cents.
MapleTree – BT
Mapletree Logistics Trust buys 4 warehouses
MAPLETREE Logistics Trust is acquiring four warehouse properties in Singapore from listed Union Steel Holdings for $36.8 million. Mapletree, through its trustee, HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore), has signed a put and call option for the properties, it said in a statement yesterday. The four properties are located at Pioneer Road North, Neythal Road, Tuas Avenue 8 and Tuas View Square.
Union Steel Pte Ltd will lease back the Pioneer Road North and Neythal Road warehouses, while YLS Steel Pte Ltd will lease the two Tuas warehouses. Both the lessees are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Union Steel Holdings.
The lease tenure for all the properties is six years, with an option to extend for a further six years.
Mapletree said the acquisitions will be accretive to its distribution per unit (DPU). The proforma financial effect of the acquisitions on the DPU for the financial year ended December 2006 would be an additional 0.1 Singapore cent per unit.
‘The good location of the properties, which are in established industrial estates, will underpin capital values and provide good upward reversion potential,’ said Chua Tiow Chye, chief executive officer of Mapletree Logistics Trust Management, the manager of the trust. ‘These accretive assets will contribute positively to the stability of the returns for our unit holders.’
The acquisition is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2007. Mapletree said it will have sufficient debt capacity to fund the acquisition wholly by debt, although it could also explore alternative means of funding should the need arise.