CapitaLand sells 20 malls for $1.29bn to China Vanke, SCPG and Triwater

Singapore-based real estate company, CapitaLand, has sold 20 of its malls to a Chinese consortium for $1.29bn.

The consortium is made up of residential real estate developer, China Vanke; Chinese mall owner, developer and operator, SCPG Holdings; and diversified water company, Triwater Asset Management Holdings.

The deal is part of a move to change CapitaLand’s portfolio and focus on “top tier” cities, and is the third of its kind since September last year. 14 of the malls it has sold are based in non-core cities in China.

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The 20 malls account for 4% of the company’s global total assets, and 7% of its China shopping mall portfolio according to IPE. Of the 49 remaining malls in CapitaLand’s portfolio, which are located in 22 cities, 45 are now in first or second tier cities.

Lim Ming Yan, president and group CEO of CapitaLand, told IPE: “China is now sitting on the cusp of transformative changes to its retail industry, characterised by a burgeoning middle-class and the rising popularity of omni-channel retailing. CapitaLand is seizing the window of opportunity to reconstitute its mall portfolio with a sharper geographical focus that enhances our capacity to capture growth opportunities in China. We will continue to invest in dominant assets in core Chinese city clusters, where we already enjoy a competitive advantage.”

In December, CapitaLand sold CapitalMall in Kunshan for $30.33mn.