CapitaLand Investment Applies for Shanghai Listing of $380M China Mall REIT

Singapore’s CapitaLand Investment has applied for the registration and listing of its first onshore China REIT, with the trust set to be seeded with a pair of malls valued at a combined RMB 2.8 billion ($380 million).

The listing of CapitaLand Commercial C-REIT on the Shanghai Stock Exchange would mark the first international-sponsored retail C-REIT and the first of that type by a Singapore-based company, CapitaLand Investment said Thursday in a release. The Temasek-controlled giant is positioning CLCR as a domestic complement to the firm’s CapitaLand China Trust, a Singapore-listed REIT aimed at international investors.

CLCR’s seed properties, CapitaMall SKY+ in Guangzhou and CapitaMall Yuhuating in Changsha, have a total gross floor area of 168,405 square metres (1.8 million square feet) and an aggregate committed occupancy of 97 percent, according to CapitaLand Investment.

“The proposed listing of CLCR is in line with CLI’s strategy to pursue asset-light growth and expand in China by tapping domestic capital,” said Puah Tze Shyang, CEO of CapitaLand Investment China. “It will further strengthen CLI’s listed funds platform, broaden our access to perpetual domestic capital, and enable us to grow our assets under management and recurring fee income.”

Pipeline Potential

Located 8 kilometres (5 miles) from Guangzhou’s central business district in the Guangdong capital’s Pearl River New Town, CapitaMall SKY+ is jointly owned by SGX-listed CapitaLand Investment and unlisted CapitaLand Development. CapitaMall Yuhuating, in the Dongtang retail hub of the Hunan provincial capital of Changsha, is currently held by CapitaLand China Trust.

CapitaLand Investment, CapitaLand Development and CapitaLand China Trust will collectively hold at least a 20 percent interest in CLCR, according to Thursday’s announcement. As the sponsor and asset manager, CapitaLand Investment will continue to operate the two seed malls.

CLCR could potentially draw from CapitaLand Investment’s pipeline of 43 operational retail properties across 18 Chinese cities with total assets under management of S$18 billion ($13.7 billion). The new vehicle also offers an opportunity for CapitaLand China Trust to enter the C-REIT market, said Gerry Chan, CEO of the Singapore-listed REIT’s manager.

“It provides a platform to unlock value from our mature assets, bolstering our financial flexibility to pursue income diversification and enhance portfolio quality,” Chan said. “This aligns with our growth strategy as a diversified, multi-asset-class REIT, anchored by a broad portfolio of retail properties, business parks and logistics parks, while CLCR will focus on retail assets.”

Recycling Centre

CapitaLand Investment bills itself as Asia Pacific’s largest REIT sponsor-manager by market capitalisation, taking into account the firm’s 40 percent stake in SC Capital Partners, the sponsor of Tokyo-listed Japan Hotel REIT.

The Singaporean giant reported last month that its attributable profit surged 165 percent to S$479 million ($355 million) in 2024, boosted by S$5.5 billion in divestments that generated S$230 million in net portfolio gains.

In China, where CapitaLand Investment has sought to optimise its portfolio and expand domestic capital partnerships, the firm sold the iHub Suzhou business park to a private fund for RMB 1.4 billion ($190 million).

“I am confident that we will be able to recycle more of our China assets and drive asset-light growth of our fund business in China by developing attractive products for both domestic and international investors,” CapitaLand Investment CEO Lee Chee Koon said in March.