Mingtiandi

Asia real estate and outbound investment news

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Sign Up / Login Logout

Lost your password?
Register
Forgotten Password
Cancel

Register For This Site

A password will be e-mailed to you.

  • Capital Markets
  • Events
    • Mingtiandi 2023 Event Calendar
    • Mingtiandi APAC Residential Forum 2023
    • Mingtiandi Asia Logistics Forum 2023
    • Mingtiandi Hong Kong Focus Forum 2023
    • Mingtiandi APAC Data Centre Forum 2023
    • Mingtiandi Asia Office Strategies Forum 2023
    • Mingtiandi Singapore Focus Forum 2023
    • More Events
  • MTD TV
  • People
  • Logistics
  • Data Centres
  • Asia Outbound
  • Retail
  • Research & Policy
  • Advertise

Richard Li’s FWD Group Buying 50% Stake in SG Office Building for $424M

2017/05/02 by Michael Cole Leave a Comment

One George St

SOM-designed One George Street is said to be over 96% occupied

A unit of FWD Group, the insurance arm of Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group, has agreed to purchase a 50 percent stake in a Singapore office building from CapitaLand Commercial Trust for S$591.6 million ($424 million), according to an announcement by the trust’s manager to the Singapore stock exchange today.

CapitaLand Commercial Trust Management, which manages the S$4.8 billion REIT, says it is selling the stake in One George Street to FWD Group in a deal which values the 23-storey office building in Singapore’s Raffles Place financial district at S$1,183.2 million.

The real estate investment follows just over one year after Li’s regional insurance player entered the Singapore market by acquiring a 90 percent stake in medical insurer Shenton Insurance from Parkway Holdings. Richard Li is the son of Hong Kong super-investor Li Ka-shing, and his Pacific Century Group, which already owns Hong Kong’s PCCW telecom provider has been a major investor in mainland China real estate.

2017 Sale Price Edges Out 2008 Purchase Price

FWD will hold its stake in the 51,714 square metre (556,639 square foot) tower through a joint venture with CapitaLand Commercial Trust. A statement from the REIT’s manager says that CapitaLand Commercial Trust expects to recognise an estimated gain of S$84.6 million on its divestment in the circa 2004, SOM-designed office building.

The transaction, which is expected to be completed by mid-June this year, values the property at 16.7 percent above a S$1,014.0 million year-end valuation, and works out to S$2,650 per square foot of net lettable area. Following the deal, CapitaLand Commercial Trust Management will continue to be the asset manager for the property, with sister firm CapitaLand Commercial Management remaining as the property manager.

One George Street was originally developed by CapitaLand and German insurer ERGO, and currently counts Diageo Singapore and plastics manufacturer Borouge among its major tenants. The CapitaLand joint venture sold the property to CapitaLand Commercial Trust in 2008 for S$1.17 billion.

“The divestment of One George Street to OGS LLP is in line with the Trust’s portfolio reconstitution strategy to proactively enhance the value of CapitaLand Commercial Trust’s portfolio and increase our financial flexibility to invest in other compelling and sustainable growth opportunities so as to improve returns to unitholders,” said CapitaLand Commercial Trust Management CEO Lynette Leong, referring to the sale to the newly created joint venture vehicle.

As of 31 March 2017, One George Street was 96.5 percent occupied, according to the vendor’s statement, and contributed 11 percent to CapitaLand Commercial Trust’s net property income in the first quarter of 2017.

Investors Regain Confidence in Singapore Office Market

Richard Li FWD Group

Richard Li looks ready to hand out some high fives after his Singapore deal

Richard Li’s decision to buy into the Singapore market comes amid a recent rebirth in interest in the city’s office assets.

In February, Singaporean banking giant DBS Group agreed to sell the PwC Building in the city’s financial district to Canadian insurer Manulife for S$747 million, and CapitaLand itself is currently said to be in exclusive talks with BlackRock to acquire Asia Square 2, a prime office building in the Marina Bay financial district.

Just last week the owners of Shanghai Hengda Group put an office building on Cecil Street in Singapore on the market for a reported S$210 million, or about 40 percent more than the group had purchased it for in September last year.

Share this now

  • LinkedIn
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Filed Under: Finance Tagged With: CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT), Featured, FWD Group, highlight, Pacific Century Group, Richard Li, Singapore, weekly-sp

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Mingtiandi Delivered

MTD TV

value-add forum 2021-03-30
Link REIT CEO George Hongchoy Says Sustainability Key to Boosting Returns
Adrian Lee of AEW
AEW, KKR, Savills See Singapore Rising on HQ Demand, Return to Office

More MTD TV Videos>>

People in the News

Charles Griffith Macquarie
Asia Real Estate People in the News 2022-02-06
Kelvin Chan CBRE
CBRE Hires Kelvin Chan as Head of Capital Markets for China
Yoshinaga Takahashi PDG
PDG Hires Mitsui’s Yoshinaga Takahashi as Managing Director of Japan
Brian Kwon Dexus
Dexus Opens Singapore Office, Hires Brian Kwon as Head of Distribution for Asia

More Industry Professionals>>

People in the News

Asia Real Estate People in the News 2022-02-06

Charles Griffith Macquarie

Finance giants lead this week’s collection of personnel moves on Mingtiandi as two of Asia Pacific’s largest financial … Read More>>

CBRE Hires Kelvin Chan as Head of Capital Markets for China

Kelvin Chan CBRE

CBRE on Friday announced the appointment of Kelvin Chan as the global property consultancy’s head of capital markets for … Read More>>

PDG Hires Mitsui’s Yoshinaga Takahashi as Managing Director of Japan

Yoshinaga Takahashi PDG

Princeton Digital Group has appointed Yoshinaga Takahashi as managing director of Japan, where he will help execute the … Read More>>

Dexus Opens Singapore Office, Hires Brian Kwon as Head of Distribution for Asia

Brian Kwon Dexus

Australian property major Dexus is extending its regional reach with the opening of a new office in Singapore and the … Read More>>

More Industry Professionals>>

Latest Stories

Charles Griffith Macquarie
Asia Real Estate People in the News 2022-02-06
David Loh Kim Kang Centurion
Singapore’s Centurion Plans $92M Sydney Student Housing Project
Todd-Olson Cushman & Wakefield
Singapore Leads APAC Data Centre Rankings with 2% Vacancy

Sponsored Features

How Data Leadership Can Prepare Real Estate Companies for Big Data and AI in 2023
OpenSpace Capture
OpenSpace Capture Provides On-the-Ground Eyes at US Government Building Projects
Malls and Megaprojects from Hong Kong to Beijing Triumph at PropertyGuru Awards Show

More Sponsored Features>>

Connect with Mingtiandi

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Real Estate News

  • Capital Markets
  • 2022 Event Calendar
  • MTD TV Archives
  • People
  • Logistics
  • Data Centres
  • Asia Outbound
  • Retail

More Mingtiandi

  • About Mingtiandi
  • Contact Mingtiandi
  • Mingtiandi Membership
  • Newsletter Subscription
  • Advertise
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Join the Mingtiandi Team


© 2007-2023 China Advertising Media Ltd (Samoa). All rights reserved.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.