Singapore, 28 November 2001 - CapitaLand Commercial Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, has finalised plans to establish a private trust, SingMall Property Trust (SPT), with a view to select appropriate private investors and to prepare it for listing when market conditions are favourable.

CapitaLand Commercial (CCL) has exercised the respective options with The Ascott Group and Tampines Mall Limited, and nominated the trustee of the SPT, Bermuda Trust (Singapore) Limited, to purchase three prime retail properties Junction 8, Funan The IT Mall and Tampines Mall for a total of S$895 million. The purchase of these properties by the private trust will be completed by 28 December, 2001. The purchase will be funded by the subscription of units in the private trust and external borrowings. An aggregate of 720 million units will be issued in the private trust. CCL is also finalising negotiations with investor groups in the private trust who share similar objectives for the SPT and its future listing.

The performance of the private trust will be tracked and measured in terms of its income stream and distribution yield to investors. Appropriate periodic updates will be made to investor groups as well as potential investors. The intention is to demonstrate the strong and resilient income stream that can be generated from the suburban retail asset class.

Mr Liew Mun Leong, Deputy Chairman of CapitaLand Commercial and President & CEO of CapitaLand said, We have built strong domain knowledge in structuring listed property entities. Our confidence in listed property trusts as a new asset class for investors looking for stable and high-yielding returns remains strong. Earlier this year, we disclosed our plans to raise S$0.5 billion to S$1.0 billion via asset divestments. To date, we have exceeded this target significantly. Through outright divestments, securitizations and other modes of divestments, we have raised more than S$1.5 billion. We will continue to pursue our strategy to monetise assets and create an asset-light, more fee-based company by re-launching the SPT when market conditions are favourable."

Added Mr Ed Ng, CEO of CapitaLand Commercial, As a pioneer in the effort to bring listed property trusts to Singapore, we have resolved a series of regulatory issues, including tax transparency. In addition, we have created the momentum for an investor education programme of a new asset class in Singapore and established a closer working relationship with the financial regulators who have been most supportive with advice and guidance. I believe there are even fewer issues now for the establishment of a listed property trust in Singapore."

About CapitaLand Commercial LimitedCapitaLand Commercial owns, develops and manages an extensive portfolio of commercial properties in Singapore and the region with a total asset base exceeding S$9 billion as at 31 December 2000.

In Singapore, CapitaLand Commercial is the largest manager of office, retail and industrial space, with a portfolio of 10.9 million square feet of net lettable area in total. Overseas, it has investments in several key gateway cities including Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and London.