Mapletree Logistics Trust Selling Trio of Malaysia Assets for $36M

Mapletree Logistics Trust has agreed to sell three warehouse properties in Malaysia for a total of MYR 157.5 million ($36.4 million), as the Singapore-listed REIT continues to overhaul its portfolio through what it terms selective divestments.

The trio’s highest-value asset is Linfox, comprising a single-storey warehouse and a two-storey office annexe in the Selangor state capital of Shah Alam, the trust’s manager said Tuesday in a release. The other properties are Zentraline in Shah Alam and Celestica Hub in the town of Senai in Malaysia’s southern Johor state.

No information was disclosed about the buyers, who were described as third parties entering into separate agreements with the REIT sponsored by Temasek-controlled property giant Mapletree Investments.

“Capital released from the divestments will provide MLT with greater financial flexibility to pursue investment opportunities in high-specification, modern logistics facilities with higher growth potential,” the manager said.

Farewell to Ageing Sheds

MLT will offload the 27-year-old Linfox, which provides 17,984 square metres (193,578 square feet) of net lettable area, at a price of MYR 72 million, or a 28.6 premium to the March valuation of MYR 56 million, according to the release. The trust had acquired the property in 2007 for MYR 35 million.

Zentraline, a single-storey warehouse and office annexe with 14,529 square metres of NLA, is changing hands for MYR 42.3 million, or 1.9 percent above the March valuation of MYR 41.5 million. MLT had purchased the 23-year-old property in 2006 for MYR 25 million.

Celestica Hub comprises two blocks of single-storey warehouses with a combined NLA of 22,304 square metres and an average building age of 18 years. The sale price of MYR 43.2 million is up 2.9 percent from the March valuation of MYR 42 million. The REIT had acquired the complex in 2012 for MYR 27.5 million.

The proposed divestments are to be completed during fiscal 2024-25, leaving MLT’s S$13 billion-plus portfolio with 182 properties across Singapore, Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam.

Distribution Slide

The latest disposals are the first to be announced since Jean Kam took over as CEO of MLT’s manager in July, succeeding Ng Kiat.

In June, the trust revealed plans to sell a five-storey warehouse with a single-storey detached factory building on Singapore’s Neythal Road for S$13.8 million and the Mapletree Xi’an Logistics Park in China for RMB 70.5 million ($9.7 million).

MLT’s distribution per unit fell 8.9 percent year-on-year to $0.02068 for the fiscal first quarter to the end of June, as higher borrowing costs, regional currency depreciation and China weakness continued to weigh on distributable income, the manager said.