Capitamalls Asia and SIPJUD Break Ground for Largest Shopping Mall in East China
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For immediate release 21 May 2012 NEWS RELEASE CapitaMalls Asia and SIPJUD break ground for largest shopping mall in East China Singapore, Hong Kong and Suzhou, 21 May 2012 – CapitaMalls Asia Limited (SGX: JS8 and HKEx: 6813) and Suzhou Industrial Park Jinji Lake Urban Development Co., Ltd (“SIPJUD”) are pleased to announce today that they marked a key milestone by breaking ground for the largest shopping mall in East China. Owned by the Suzhou Industrial Park (“SIP”) government, SIPJUD is the master developer of the SIP Central Business District (“CBD”), known as the Suzhou Centre. The ground-breaking ceremony of the mall was held yesterday in conjunction with the ground-breaking of Suzhou Centre, and was graced by Mr Jiang Hongkun, Member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (“CPC”) Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Secretary of the CPC Suzhou Municipal Committee; Mr Zhou Naixiang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Suzhou Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor of Suzhou; Mr Du Guoling, Director of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of Suzhou Municipality; Mr Wang Jinhua, Chairman of the Suzhou Municipal Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; and His Excellency Mr Stanley Loh Ka Leung, Singapore’s ambassador to China. CapitaMalls Asia and SIPJUD are developing a seven-storey shopping mall and two Grade A office towers on a prime site in Suzhou Centre in the heart of the western CBD of SIP, next to the scenic Jinji Lake and near the renowned traditional city centre in Suzhou. It is also directly connected to two metro lines (Line 1, which started operations last month and the future Line 5). The total development cost of the project is expected to be about RMB6,740 million (S$1,331 million / HK$8,329 million). Based on their effective stakes of 50% each in the joint venture, CapitaMalls Asia and SIPJUD’s shares of the total development cost are about RMB3,370 million (S$665 million / HK$4,165 million) each. 1 The shopping mall will have a total gross floor area (“GFA”) of about 290,0001 square metres (“sq m”), while the two office towers are expected to have a total GFA of about 60,000 sq m. The retail portion will therefore account for about 83% of the development’s total GFA of about 350,000 sq m, excluding car park spaces. The shopping mall will cater to upper middle and high-income shoppers. The offerings will include luxury brands, high-street fashion brands, entertainment for the family, and a gourmet supermarket. The mall will also house an Olympic-size ice rink and a cineplex. With its strategic location and transport accessibility, the shopping mall will serve a catchment population of over 4.5 million in Suzhou as well as a total of about 12 million residents in the Greater Suzhou region. Designed by award-winning architectural firm Benoy, the development is set to be an iconic landmark in Suzhou, offering a one-stop shopping, dining, recreation and entertainment destination. The two Grade A office towers will offer a first-class international business environment. Mr Lim Beng Chee, CEO of CapitaMalls Asia said, “This is our first shopping mall in Suzhou and we are pleased to be able to break ground just seven months after signing the co-operation agreement. We are very honoured to have the strong support of the Suzhou government and an experienced partner in SIPJUD, who is also the master developer of the entire Suzhou Centre. We are confident that this development will become a landmark shopping, dining and entertainment destination in East China. Our mall will offer both local and international brands the opportunity to expand to a quality shopping mall in Suzhou.” Mr Xu Guoping, President of SIPJUD added, “Suzhou Industrial Park is an important economic co- operation project by the China and Singapore governments. This year is the 18th year of establishment of the SIP. Our partnership with CapitaMalls Asia to jointly develop the shopping mall in Suzhou Centre will be not only be an expansion of the SIP bilateral cooperation, it will also be another landmark project signifying the deep bilateral relations we have established. In 2011, Suzhou’s retail sales grew faster than the national average, increasing 17.8% to RMB283 billion (S$56 billion / HK$350 billion). We are thus confident about the retail prospects in Suzhou. Leveraging on our respective resources and strengths, we believe that this development will become one of the best and largest integrated shopping malls in East China.” 1 The areas are subject to change based on the final surveyed area. 2 Summary of Suzhou joint development Overall A prime development comprising a seven-storey shopping mall (from Basement 1 to Level 6) and two 20- storey office towers. Location Strategically located in the West Jinji Lake CBD in Suzhou Centre, the development will be connected to a metro station along Line 1 (operational last month), as well as Line 5 in future. When completed it will serve a catchment population of 4.5 million in Suzhou as well as a total of about 12 million residents in the Greater Suzhou region. Site area 65,010 sq m GFA (excluding car park) Retail: 290,000 sq m Office: 60,000 sq m (2 blocks of 20 storeys each) No. of car park spaces About 3,000 Land use tenure 40 years, expiring in 2051 About CapitaMalls Asia (www.capitamallsasia.com) CapitaMalls Asia Limited is one of the largest listed shopping mall developers, owners and managers in Asia by total property value of assets and geographic reach. CapitaMalls Asia has an integrated shopping mall business model encompassing retail real estate investment, development, mall operations, asset management and fund management capabilities. It has interests in and manages a pan-Asian portfolio of 99 shopping malls across 51 cities in the five countries of Singapore, China, Malaysia, Japan and India, with a total property value of approximately S$29.5 billion (HK$184.6 billion) and a total GFA of approximately 89.6 million sq ft. Shopping malls in the portfolio include ION Orchard and Plaza Singapura – which are located in one of the world’s most famous shopping streets, Orchard Road – Raffles City Singapore and Clarke Quay in Singapore. Our landmark shopping malls in China are CapitaMall Crystal in Beijing; Hongkou Plaza in Shanghai and Raffles City Shanghai; and CapitaMall Jinniu in Chengdu. The portfolio also includes Gurney Plaza in Penang, Malaysia; Vivit Square in Tokyo, Japan; as well as Forum Value Mall in Bangalore, India. CapitaMalls Asia’s principal business strategy is to invest in, develop and manage a diversified portfolio of real estate used primarily for retail purposes in Asia, and to strengthen its market position as a leading developer, owner and manager of shopping malls in Asia. 3 About SIPJUD Suzhou Industrial Park Jinji Lake Urban Development Co., Ltd (SIPJUD, 苏州工业园区金鸡湖城市发展 有限公司) was established in September 2010 with a registered capital of RMB2 billion and is owned by the SIP government. The core business of SIPJUD is to develop and manage high-end urban integrated developments. It seeks to apply leading concepts in urban integrated developments to create a high-quality, multi-functional, green and low carbon development in the city. The development will be integrated with a transportation hub, and offers a comprehensive commercial and functional mix. SIPJUD is the master developer of Suzhou Centre, a large scale high end CBD development in the centre of Suzhou, with a site area of 13.9 hectares, and a planned total GFA of 1.82 million sq m. The development comprises office, retail, hotel and serviced apartment as well as cultural and entertainment spaces. Once completed, Suzhou Centre will become Suzhou’s most iconic development and congregates the city’s most outstanding commercial developments. Issued by: CapitaMalls Asia Limited (Co. Regn.: 200413169H) Suzhou Industrial Park Jinji Lake Urban Development Co., Ltd Date: 21 May 2012 For more information, please contact: CapitaMalls Asia Limited Analyst Media Brenda Ng Lim Seng Jin Senior Executive, Investor Relations Head, Corporate Communications and Marketing Tel: +65 6826 5569 Tel: +65 6826 5778 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Suzhou Industrial Park Jinji Lake Urban Development Co., Ltd Media Hong Wenjian Assistant General Manager Marketing & Planning Division Tel: +86 512 6988 6021 Email : [email protected] 4 .