Singapore-based CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia’s largest real estate company, has submitted its application to list a RM2 billion real estate investment trust (REIT) on Bursa Malaysia.
The REIT, which includes Sungai Wang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur, Gurney Plaza in Penang and Mines Shopping Fair in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, is expected to receive an approval before October. CapitaLand chief investment officer, Kee Teck Koon said that it hopes to list the REIT before year-end but it would depend on the performance of the local capital market.
According to him, the company is very clear on listing in Malaysia and is seeking high-value commercial properties in Kuala Lumpur but has nothing concrete currently. In June, it acquired 62 per cent of Sungai Wang Plaza’s retail area for RM595 million.
Kee was speaking to the media after the topping-up ceremony for the Tower D project in KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday. The commercial building, which sits next to Sooka Sentral and opposite the Sentral rail station, has received strong tenant interest.
Quill Group of Companies executive director, Datuk Michael Ong said that 65 per cent out of the project’s total net lettable space of 355,323 sq ft has been taken up, and mainly by foreign companies. He added that the project, to be completed in the first quarter of 2009, is expected to be fully tenanted by end of this year.
According to Ong, the average monthly rental in KL Sentral was between RM6 and RM7 psf while the latest property transaction price in KL Sentral was RM1,000 psf. The group expects demand for top-grade commercial properties to remain high due to the limited supply of commercial assets especially in areas close to KLCC.
Tower D, a 29-storey office tower with a six-storey podium, is being developed by Quill Realty Sdn Bhd, which is 60 per cent owned by Quill and 40 per cent by Malaysia Commercial Development Fund (MCDF). MCDF is managed by MCDF Management Pte Ltd, an indirect wholly-owned unit of CapitaLand with Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd as its principal adviser.
