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CapitaLand Mall Asia Limited, the wholly owned shopping mall business of CapitaLand, has inked its first third-party management contract for a retail component of an integrated mall in China.
The contract signed with Changsha Pilot Investment Holdings Group Co. was for the management of Fortune Finance Center, in Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan in Central China.
In an SGX filing on Wednesday (31 August), CapitaLand said that the deal marks the beginning of an enhanced asset-light strategy to enlarge its mall network via third-party management contracts in order to complement its core strategy of owning, developing and managing malls.
The contract covers asset planning, pre-opening and retail management for a total gross floor area, excluding car park, of 95,000 sq m spread across seven levels – five levels above ground and two basement levels.
Artist’s impression of Fortune Finance Centre in Changsa. Source: CapitaLand.
Owned by Chinese state-owned developer Changsha Pilot Investment Holdings, the mall is currently under construction and is expected to commence operations by end-2018.
With the contract, CapitaLand doubles its presence in Changsa, where it currently owns and manages CapitaMall Yuhuating, a 62,000 sq m shopping mall about 10kms from Fortune Finance Center. It also expands the property giant’s presence in China, where it has a network of 65 malls.
Commenting on the deal, CapitaLand Mall Asia CEO Jason Leow said: “Through third-party management contracts, we are able to take advantage of market opportunities to rapidly scale up our mall network in an asset-light manner. With an enlarged number of malls, we can then benefit from the scale and network effect to boost our leasing efforts and enhance the effectiveness of our shopper loyalty programme in these cities we operate.”
Across Asia, CapitaLand now manages a total of 104 malls in Singapore, Malaysia, China, India and Japan.
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg
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