AIMSAMPReit – BT

Sale of AIMS Reit’s Japan property completed

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit has completed the sale of Asahi Ohmiya Warehouse – at an effectively lower price of 1.483 billion yen (S$23 million).

The price of the warehouse was effectively reduced from 1.49 billion yen after a joint inspection by the interested parties and an independent engineer indicated 6.9 million yen worth of repairs were required on the property following the massive earthquake on March 11.

The completion of the sale of the warehouse, which is located about 345 km from the epicentre of the earthquake, was earlier delayed pending inspections.

The trust said in late February that it was selling the property to ‘free up capital to provide the trust with greater financial flexibility for future investment opportunities’. It added that the sale was consistent with the manager’s strategy to dispose of its single Japan-based asset.

The net sale proceeds, after repayment of a 989 million yen debt and payment of sale-related costs, will be used to reduce aggregate leverage from 33.6 per cent to 32 per cent.

Based on valuations obtained as at Sept 30, 2010, AIMS Reit consisted of 26 industrial properties located throughout Singapore and one property in Japan (Asahi Ohmiya Warehouse), with an appraised total value of $803.9 million.

Reits with Japanese exposure have been in the spotlight this fortnight.

Saizen Reit sold Johnan Building III in Fukuoka to an independent private investor for about $4.9 million. The building accounted for about 0.9 per cent of the trust’s revenue for the financial year ended June 30 last year. It is not expected to have a material impact on the trust’s financial position.

Proceeds will be used for the partial repayment of a loan that had gone into maturity default in November 2009.

Mapletree Logistics last announced that 13 of its 14 Japanese properties escaped with either no or minimal damage. It was estimated that the worst hit, Sendai Centre, would cost some $9 million to reinstate.

Frasiers Commercial Trust’s three properties in Tokyo and Osaka are intact with minimal damage. Ebara Techno-Serve Headquarters Building and Galleria Otemae Building in Tokyo and Osaka respectively, incurred minor damage with estimated costs of 1.25 million yen as at March 14.

Starhill Global Reit has seven malls in Tokyo. The manager stated that there was no known damage to the malls.

The AIMS AMP Reit counter closed at 20.5 cents yesterday, up half a cent.