CapitaLand has 30 ongoing projects

CapitaLand’s Summit Residences in Ningbo

CAPITALAND Ltd is expanding its presence in China with 100 ongoing projects in the residential, service apartment, office, shopping mall and integrated commercial property sectors.

Since making its debut in China with its maiden development in Shanghai in 1994, the Singapore-based real estate company today has a total asset value of more than S$6.5bil in the country.

Last year, CapitaLand China recorded S$1bil revenue from the sale of 2,500 residential properties.

CapitaLand (China) Investment Co Ltd deputy chief executive officer Jason Leow said the company expected the number of units sold this year to be significantly higher with contributions from its joint-venture companies in Chengdu and Henan Zhengzhou. CapitaLand's management centres in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Zhengzhou are springboards for a pan-China presence in the Bohai Economic Rim, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Southwest China and Central China.

“As a long-term player, CapitaLand sees tremendous potential in China, which is the world's fastest growing real estate market. In the next three to five years, the company will be building more than 35,000 housing units in various cities throughout China,” Leow told Malaysian journalists on a recent trip to Shanghai.

The company's residential projects in China comprise mainly medium to upmarket apartments, with price tags for most developments ranging from 600,000 and 2 million yuan a unit.

Currently, CapitaLand has more than 30 ongoing projects in the various cities that offer residences with built-up areas of between 800 and 2,500 sq ft, priced from 600,000 yuan a unit.

Projects planned for the next one to two years include Summit Residences in Ningbo, I-World in Hangzhou, La Capitale and The Pines in Beijing, The Loft in Chengdu and The Riveria in Foshan.

According to Leow, China's urban populace currently makes up 40% of its total population and by 2030, the urban ratio will increase to 60%.

“This means 15 million new urban residents will be added a year and the number of new housing areas will have to be increased accordingly.

“On a yearly basis, 20 million sq m of houses, which is equivalent to 200,000 homes, are been sold in Shanghai alone. But limited land is available for development within the city centre now, and this explains the severe housing shortage in the city centre,” he added.

In the retail property sector, CapitaLand currently owns 33 retail malls across China.

Under its expansion plan, memorandums of understanding have been signed to acquire another 35 malls in various cities, including Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan, Shandong and Inner Mongolia.

Since the completion of Raffles City Shanghai in 2003, CapitaLand's Raffles City integrated commercial development will also be making waves in China's gateway cities with three projects ongoing in Beijing, Chengdu and Hangzhou.

He said the commercial projects that had been completed included Raffles City Shanghai and Capital Tower Beijing, with total gross floor area of 241,443 sq m.

Projects under construction, comprising Raffles City Beijing, Raffles City Chengdu, Raffles City Hangzhou, Capital Plaza Ningbo and Shanghai Zhabei 313, will offer gross floor area of 743,908 sq m.“In the service residences sector, CapitaLand is targeting to expand its portfolio to 10,000 residences by 2010 from 4,200 units now.

“CapitaLand's Ascott, the largest leading international service residence company in China, currently operates 22 properties with about 4,200 units,” Leow said.

By The Star