CapitaLand CEO Targets One New Raffles City A Year

Source : The Business Times, Thursday, October 4, 2007

The company also aims to manage 10 Reits eventually.

CAPITALAND group president and CEO Liew Mun Leong yesterday set the company the target of developing at least one new Raffles City every year.

Mr Liew, who was briefing the media on the group’s plans for the Raffles City brand, said CapitaLand aims to have five more Raffles City developments within the next five years, making a total of 10.

He also said that CapitaLand may inject the Raffles City developments into a Raffles City real estate investment trust (Reit), once all the developments are stable and deliver good yields.

He added that CapitaLand aims to manage 10 Reits eventually, possibly within ‘a relatively short time’.

The news comes after the announcement on Tuesday that CapitaLand hopes to double the number of current Raffles City malls to at least 10.

Even this number could increase. ‘At CapitaLand, we like to double our targets,’ Mr Liew said, only half in jest.

China, which already has three Raffles Cities in different stages of development, could have two or three more.

Other countries and gateway cities that have expressed interest in having CapitaLand develop a Raffles City development include India, Vietnam, Japan, and gateway cities in countries such as Russia and in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Although the Raffles City model is anchored by a large mall, it is in essence a ‘branded integrated development’ with a combination of possible office, hotel and retail segments.

CapitaLand owns the Raffles City trademark, and Mr Liew said: ‘If you have a good product and don’t take advantage of it, someone else will copy it.’

In terms of strategic business unit performance, CapitaLand Commercial registered revenue of $43.2 million in the second quarter of this year, up almost 50 per cent year-on-year.

CapitaLand said this was due mainly to the consolidation of revenue from Raffles City Shanghai which became a subsidiary in September 2006 and higher property management fee income.

Separately, CapitaLand announced yesterday that it had established two indirect wholly owned subsidiaries incorporated in China: Xinyun Investment Management (Hangzhou) Co and Beijing CapitaLand Xin Ming Real Estate Development Co.