The group is selling its share to Keppel Reit, which will have a two-thirds interest in the property upon completion

 

[SINGAPORE] Shares of   Hongkong Land   : H78 +5.48% rose on Thursday (Dec 11) following news of the S$1.45 billion sale of its stake in Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 3 to Keppel Reit.  

 

The counter ended Thursday 5.5 per cent or US$0.36 higher, at US$6.93, with 7.5 million shares changing hands. 

 

On Thursday morning, Keppel Reit announced in a bourse filing that it had agreed to acquire an additional one-third interest in the MBFC asset from Sageland, a subsidiary of Hongkong Land. 

 

Upon completion of the deal, expected on Dec 31, Keppel Reit&rsquo s interest in the property will increase to two-thirds.

 

To fund the acquisition, the real estate investment trust launched an underwritten non-renounceable preferential offering to raise gross proceeds of around S$886.3 million. 

 

About S$875.6 million, or 98.8 per cent of the gross proceeds, will be used to partially finance the acquisition.

 

MBFC was originally jointly developed by a consortium comprising Hongkong Land, Keppel Land and Cheung Kong.

 

In response to queries from The Business Times on the rationale behind the investment, Hongkong Land said it would make an announcement soon.

It is expected to launch with an AUM more than double the value of the seed portfolio provided by Hongkong Land

 

[SINGAPORE] Hongkong Land on Friday (Dec 12) announced that it has made &ldquo significant advancements&rdquo towards the launch of its inaugural private real estate fund. This follows Thursday&rsquo s announcement of Keppel Reit&rsquo s planned acquisition of the group&rsquo s stake in Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 3.

 

The new entity, called the Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF), is expected to hold more than S$8 billion in assets under management (AUM) at its inception.

 

The fund will focus exclusively on managing prime commercial property assets in Singapore.

 

Keppel Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) agreed to acquire Hongkong Land&rsquo s one-third interest in MBFC Tower 3 for around S$1.5 billion, the Reit manager announced on Thursday.

 

This price is 2 per cent above Hongkong Land&rsquo s independent valuation of the asset as at Jun 30, the company noted. 

 

Under its contractual obligations, Hongkong Land offered its joint venture partners pre-emptive rights to purchase its stakes in One Raffles Quay, MBFC Towers 1, 2 and 3 prior to the fund&rsquo s formation. The deadline for acceptance was Thursday.

 

While Keppel Reit exercised its option for Tower 3, the pre-emptive offers for One Raffles Quay and MBFC Towers 1 and 2 have lapsed. 

 

Hongkong Land thus plans to transfer its interests in these remaining assets, along with its 100 per cent interest in One Raffles Link, to the new fund, it said. 

 

Combined, the assets designated for the fund held an attributable property value of S$3.9 billion as at Jun 30, representing around 3.2 million square feet of office space.

 

Net proceeds from the sale of MBFC Tower 3 will increase Hongkong Land&rsquo s total capital recycling achieved since 2024 from US$2.1 billion to US$2.8 billion. This figure represents around 70 per cent of the group&rsquo s US$4 billion capital-recycling target set for 2027.

 

Hongkong Land stated that SCPREF is expected to launch with an AUM more than double the value of the seed portfolio provided by the company. 

 

Equity commitments from third-party capital investors are currently in the final stage of documentation.

 

&ldquo The establishment of SCPREF is in line with the company&rsquo s strategy to grow its AUM to US$100 billion by 2035, with meaningful participation from third-party capital investors,&rdquo it said. 

 

The group indicated that an announcement regarding the fund&rsquo s establishment is expected in Q1 2026.

Company says outlook for its full-year financial results remains unchanged

 

[SINGAPORE]   Hongkong Land&rsquo s   : H78 -0.47% underlying profit for the third quarter of its 2025 financial year is 13 per cent lower than the same period the previous year.

 

This is primarily due to lower contributions from its Hong Kong office portfolio and pre-opening costs of its prime properties in China, said the property company in an interim management statement filed on the bourse on Thursday (Nov 20). 

 

Hongkong Land added that its outlook for the full-year financial results remains unchanged, with performance expected to be lower than the previous year. However, it said that the company&rsquo s financial position remained strong. 

 

The firm had generated net cash inflows in Q3. When combined with proceeds from the sale of MCL Land, net debt was down to US$4.4 billion as at Oct 31, 2025, while gearing ratio &ndash which measures a company&rsquo s debt to equity &ndash went down to 15 per cent. 

 

Hongkong Land had announced in September that it would sell its Singapore and Malaysian property arm MCL Land to Malaysia&rsquo s Sunway Group in a S$738.7 million cash deal. 

 

In its bourse statement, Hongkong Land said that total net proceeds from the divestment, including cash distributions before completion, amounted to S$839 million. Including the proceeds from this transaction, the company has secured 50 per cent of its target of recycling at least US$4 billion of capital by the end of 2027. 

 

The US$200 million share buyback programme announced in April this year has also been fully invested, reducing the issued share capital of the company by 1.6 per cent. 

 

An additional US$150 million, financed by proceeds from the MCL Land transaction and other recycled capital, was allocated to the share buyback programme in September, with about US$40 million invested to date.

 

The company had announced last month its plans for the next 10 years to exit the build-to-sell residential development business as it pivots towards fund management and focuses on ultra-premium integrated commercial properties in Asia&rsquo s gateway cities. 

 

Malaysia&rsquo s Sunway to buy Hongkong Land&rsquo s development arm MCL Land for S$738.7 million cash

It intends to recycle up to US$10 billion in capital by 2035, and grow assets under management from US$40 billion now to up to US$100 billion by then.

 

While the company had already exited the Singapore and Malaysia residential markets, it has continued with ongoing projects in China and a select number of South-east Asian countries. 

 

Hongkong Land noted that buyer sentiment for the residential sector in China deteriorated in the quarter, as the impact of new stimulus policies were limited. It will carry out a thorough review of the carrying value of its build-to-sell inventory in China at the end of the year. 

 

The company has focused on driving sales by adapting its sales strategies and selectively reducing selling prices to cater to local market conditions. Further price reductions may be considered in the remainder of the year, as it continues to progress towards its capital-recycling targets. The firm had secured attributable contracted sales of US$161 million in Q3. 

It is selling its Singapore and Malaysia residential property arm to Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Group as it exits the residential build-to-sell sector

 

[SINGAPORE] Shares of Hongkong Land surged to a six-year high in intraday trade on the Singapore Exchange on Friday (Sep 19) after the real estate group announced a S$738.7 million sale of its residential development arm MCL Land. 

 

At 9.38 am, the counter hit US$7.45, with 3.4 million shares changing hands. This was 12 per cent or US$0.80 above Thursday&rsquo s closing price of US$6.65. This was the highest price the stock had reached since March 2019, ShareInvestor data showed. 

 

The stock later retreated to finish the day at US$6.73, still up by 1.2 per cent or US$0.08, with nearly 15 million shares changing hands.

 

On Thursday, Hongkong Land said it would sell its Singapore and Malaysia residential property arm MCL Land to Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Group. 

 

The S$738.7 million cash deal was Sunway&rsquo s largest deal to date and pushed its investment in Singapore past S$1.2 billion. 

 

Sunway will take ownership of MCL Land and its subsidiaries following the deal. This includes ongoing development projects in Singapore, alongside MCL Land&rsquo s portfolio of income generating and development assets in Malaysia. 

 

MCL is a residential developer in Singapore and Malaysia. Its Singapore residential projects include Nava Grove, Elta and Copen Grand. 

 

Hongkong Land chief executive Michael Smith told the media on Thursday that the deal is at net asset value.

 

The transaction is expected to complete in the next one to two months and is part of the company&rsquo s capital recycling strategy. 

 

In October 2024, the company announced plans to exits the residential build-to-sell sector to focus on ultra-premium integrated commercial projects in Asian gateway cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. Then, Smith had told The Business Times that Hongkong Land&rsquo s core competencies were in integrated complexes. 

 

The changes were a result of a comprehensive strategic review of the business. 

 

Speaking on the recent deal, Smith said that most of its proceeds will go to future endeavours, including such projects. About US$150 million will be used to extend the group&rsquo s share buyback programme. 

 

Founded in 1889 and incorporated in Bermuda, Hongkong Land is a member of the giant Jardine Matheson Group. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings in Singapore and Bermuda. 

Hongkong Land seeks to provide a hotel-like experience for workers and visitors in its buildings in Marina Bay

 

[SINGAPORE] At Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 2, concierge staff weave through crowds in the lobby, greeting visitors and assisting them with their enquiries. 

 

The set-up is more similar to what guests typically encounter in a luxury hotel than what they would usually find in an office building.  

 

Since 2019, Raffles Quay Asset Management (RQAM), which looks after Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) and One Raffles Quay (ORQ), has worked with asset owner Hongkong Land to redesign and reposition the office spaces in its portfolio to create a hotel-like experience for visitors. 

 

A senior concierge staff was seconded from parent group Jardine&rsquo s Mandarin Oriental to RQAM in 2022, to familiarise its customer experience teams with luxury hotel standards of service. 

 

Ben Robinson, Hongkong Land&rsquo s director and head of office for South Asia commercial property, said: &ldquo Today&rsquo s tenants are looking for more than just a great location and high-quality finishes when it comes to selecting office space. They&rsquo re increasingly focused on the experience that their staff and guests receive when they work in or visit their offices.&rdquo

 

As at Jun 30, MBFC was almost fully occupied, with an occupancy of 99.2 per cent. 

 

Hongkong Land owns a one-third stake in the commercial space in MBFC and ORQ, both of which now compete with newer buildings for tenants in Singapore&rsquo s Central Business District. ORQ was completed in 2006, and MBFC in 2012. 

 

Hongkong Land developed both assets together with Keppel Land and Cheung Kong Holdings. 

 

After completion, Keppel Reit acquired Keppel Land&rsquo s interest in ORQ, and Cheung Kong sold its stakes in ORQ and MBFC Towers 1 and 2 to its Suntec Reit. MBFC Tower 3 anchor tenant DBS acquired Cheung Kong&rsquo s share of the building. 

 

Since the first quarter of 2024, ORQ has undergone a S$17 million asset-enhancement initiative (AEI), acting on feedback from its key anchor tenants three food and beverage (F& B) outlets were added, and the garden plaza was redesigned into a large event space. 

 

Robinson said: &ldquo As a result of doing that successfully, we secured a number of key tenants on a longer-term basis.&rdquo  

 

As at Jun 30, ORQ had a committed occupancy of 97.2 per cent. Major tenants include Deutsche Bank, EY and ByteDance. 

 

Robinson declined to provide details on how rents moved after the AEI. According to Hongkong Land&rsquo s results for H1 2025, rental reversions across its Singapore portfolio were positive, with average rents increasing to S$11.40 per square foot (psf) from S$11.10 psf for the year-ago period. Vacancy stood at 2 per cent as at end-June. 

 

According to Q2 data compiled by Savills, rents in Grade-A spaces in the Marina Bay area stood at S$13 psf, with vacancy for the submarket at 11.1 per cent. 

 

Robinson believes the Singapore office market is in a healthy state, with the relatively low supply of prime office space and stable rental growth. 

 

For the second quarter, the median monthly office rents for Category 1 offices, which refer to the better-quality buildings in core business areas, fell 3.2 per cent to S$11.68 psf, government data showed. 

 

Robinson said: &ldquo There&rsquo s no significant supply in the Marina Bay area on the horizon. What we&rsquo ve really seen (is) the take-up of space in IOI Central Boulevard Tower and the very stable, high-level of retention that we&rsquo ve seen in our portfolio.&rdquo  

 

Across Hongkong Land&rsquo s Singapore office portfolio, the weighted average lease expiry of its tenants as at December 2024 was 3.3 years.   Among the top 30 tenants, which account for 43 per cent of total net lettable area, weighted average lease expiry was 4.2 years. 

 

Hongkong Land is looking to differentiate its buildings with more &ldquo customer-led experiences&rdquo , said Robinson. In 2019, RQAM launched the By the Bay app, which shows tenants the dining and shopping deals available, as well as the fitness classes being organised in the buildings. 

 

As at June 2025, the app had over 67,000 registered users. 

 

He said: &ldquo If we&rsquo re able to better understand our community, if we&rsquo re able to better understand our corporate tenants and how they&rsquo re interacting with the portfolio, we&rsquo re able to deliver a far more premium level of experience and service.&rdquo  

 

For instance, RQAM runs promotions through the platform to understand anonymously which staff are going to which F& B outlets, which helps them decide if they need to reconfigure the tenant mix. 

 

Data collected from turnstile usage helps RQAM understand when tenants are arriving at and leaving the offices, which provides indicators to manage their plant equipment more efficiently.  

 

Tracking indicators such as ambient temperature, airflow, CCTV footage and utilities consumption has enabled the landlord to reap 35 per cent savings in electricity across its portfolio, compared to 2019 levels.

 

The company is also rolling out an integrated facility management control tower platform across its Central portfolio in Hong Kong by 2026. 

 

When asked whether Hongkong Land is considering placing any of its Singapore office assets into a Reit, a plan floated in earlier interviews, Robinson said capital recycling is a &ldquo key pillar&rdquo of Hongkong Land&rsquo s strategy moving forward, but that there were no updates at this stage.