CapitaRetail China Trust
CMT holds 122.7 million units in CapitaRetail China Trust (CRCT), which translates to an approximate 19.62% stake. The fair value of CMT’s investment in CRCT represents 1.87% of CMT and its subsidiaries (CMT Group)’s total asset size as at 31 December 2010. Through its investment in CRCT, CMT’s Unitholders are provided with an opportunity to enjoy the upside from China’s growth potential without CMT’s risk profile being significantly altered.
CRCT is the first China shopping mall REIT in Singapore. It was listed on the SGX-ST on 8 December 2006. It is established with the objective of investing in a diversified portfolio of income-producing real estate used primarily for retail purposes and located primarily in China, Hong Kong and Macau.
CRCT’s current portfolio of eight shopping malls is located in five cities in China. The malls are Xizhimen Mall, Wangjing Mall, Jiulong Mall and Anzhen Mall in Beijing, Qibao Mall in Shanghai, Zhengzhou Mall in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, Saihan Mall in Huhhot, Inner Mongolia, and Xinwu Mall in Wuhu, Anhui Province. As at 31 December 2010, the total asset size of CRCT is approximately S$1.3 billion.
All the malls in the portfolio are positioned as one-stop family-oriented shopping, dining and entertainment destinations for the sizeable population catchment areas in which they are located, and are accessible via major transportation routes or access points. A significant portion of the properties’ tenancies consists of major international and domestic retailers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Beijing Hualian Group (BHG) under master leases or long term leases, which provide Unitholders with stable and sustainable returns. The anchor tenants are complemented by popular specialty brands such as Vero Moda, Watsons, KFC, Pizza Hut, BreadTalk, ZARA, Sephora, etc.
CRCT has long-term growth potential from its right of first refusal arrangements to acquire assets held by CapitaMalls Asia–sponsored private funds, CapitaRetail China Development Fund, CapitaRetail China Development Fund II, CapitaRetail China Incubator Fund, as well as CapitaMalls Asia, one of the largest listed shopping mall developers, owners and managers in Asia.
CRCT delivered a strong set of results in FY 2010. Gross revenue and net property income were RMB589.1 million and RMB382.3 million, up 4.4% and 5.8% respectively from FY 2009. Distribution per unit (DPU) was 8.36 cents, an increase of 2.7% over the previous year, and the highest DPU achieved by CRCT since its listing. Shopper traffic in CRCT’s five multi-tenanted malls grew 15.4% and tenant sales at those five malls increased 24.6% compared to FY 2009. Portfolio occupancy at end-2010 was 98.1%, the highest ever recorded.
