CapitaLand Annual Report 2007 - The Story Behind Our Numbers

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Loh Wai Keong SVP Investments, CapitaLand Retail Limited
Simon Ho Chief Operating Officer, CapitaLand Retail Limited
Lim Beng Chee Chief Investment Officer, CapitaLand Retail Limited;
Pua Seck Guan CEO, CapitaLand Retail Limited
Simon Yong SVP Project Development and Management, CapitaLand Retail Limited
Tony Tan SVP Finance and Corporate Services, CapitaLand Retail Limited

“With the acquisition of a number of key projects and the strategic partnerships forged in 2007, we have gained significant momentum in our pursuit to upscale our presence across Asia. Our strong ability to identify quality assets with value creation opportunities, coupled with our established integrated retail real estate business platform, will give us the competitive edge to capture the vast growth opportunities in Asia. Looking forward, we will continue to strengthen our presence in existing key markets, whilst exploring new growth markets in the region, to maintain our pole position as the leading retail mall owner and manager in Asia.”

Pua Seck Guan
CEO, CapitaLand Retail Limited

CapitaLand Retail Limited (CRTL) is the retail real estate business unit of the Group. It is the leading mall owner/manager in Asia with a portfolio of over 110 malls in Singapore, China, India, Japan and Malaysia comprising a total of over 54.0 million sq ft of net lettable area. CRTL maintains its market leadership by focusing on improving existing property yields through asset enhancement and active property management. Through innovation and the creative execution of retail concepts, the malls owned/ managed by CRTL continued to draw in the crowds.

Various landmark deals and projects in 2007 cemented CRTL’s dominance as a retail mall owner/manager; it continued to reinforce its leadership position by charting new directions in the regional retail map and re-defining the retail landscape here and overseas.

Retail and Entertainment Hub, Vista Xchange, one-north, Singapore

Singapore
Sentiment remained positive in the retail sector in 2007, driven by buoyant consumer confidence on the back of strong local consumption and increased visitor arrivals. Efforts to remake Singapore’s main shopping belt, Orchard Road, continued unabated, and last year also saw the rejuvenation of more malls. Prospects are expected to remain positive for the sector, which is projected to outperform other property sectors over the longer term.

CRTL, through its various programmes and initiatives, continued to be a change leader at the forefront of Singapore’s evolving retail landscape. It led in the remaking of Orchard Road with the unveiling of ION Orchard, which is the name for the retail component of the iconic Orchard Turn mixed development. ION Orchard’s unrivalled location, key design features and suite of flagship brands will put it at the region’s “centre of shopping gravity” and strengthen Singapore’s status as a key shopping destination in the global retail scene. ION Orchard has many new and exciting retail concepts, such as a 53,000-sq ft space on level four dedicated to the exhibition of exclusive arts and cultural events.

Another landmark project during the year is CRTL’s partnership with Rock Productions. The S$660.0 million project will create an integrated civic, cultural, retail and entertainment hub at Vista Xchange, one-north, expected to be completed by 2011. The integrated hub will comprise two zones – an eight-level Civic and Cultural Zone measuring over 322,920 sq ft in gross floor area (GFA), and a four-level Retail and Entertainment Zone spanning 258,336 sq ft in GFA. CapitaLand will invest approximately S$380.0 million to develop and manage the Retail and Entertainment Zone.

CRTL’s leadership position is not built on new or landmark projects per se. In 2007, CRTL also continued to lead the way with its mall rejuvenation programme, and added a greater diversity of designs and concepts to enhance the shopping experience. It continually assesses and evaluates all its malls to ensure their relevance to the changing needs of shoppers.

Throughout 2007, it continued to conduct asset enhancement works to rejuvenate its malls, including Raffles City Shopping Centre, Tampines Mall, Bugis Junction, IMM Building, Lot One Shoppers’ Mall and Sembawang Shopping Centre.

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