Singapore, 29 June 2021 &ndash The Place Holdings Limited (&ldquo The Place Holdings&rdquo , the &ldquo Company&rdquo or &ldquo 天 阶 控 股 &rdquo and together with its subsidiaries, the &ldquo Group&rdquo ), a SGX mainboard-listed company is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to sell a 1.5% equity stake of The Place Yuntai Investment Pte. Ltd (&ldquo TPYI&rdquo ) for HK$25 million (approximately S$4.32 million), which values the Group&rsquo s Mount Yuntai project, with a land size of approximately 270,500.64 square metres, at approximately S$289 million.  

 

The Group will recognise a gain of approximately S$3.9 million from its 1.5% equity stake sale and it is expected to have a positive impact on the Group&rsquo s financial performance for the half year ending 30 June 2021.

 

In October 2020, the Mount Yuntai&rsquo s land site was originally valued at RMB 112 million (approximately S$22.70 million) when the Group completed its acquisition of 80% of enlarged share capital of Tianjie Yuntai Wanrun (Xiuwu) Property Development Co., Ltd. (&ldquo Tianjie Yuntai Wanrun&rdquo ).

 

In May 2021, one of China&rsquo s leading valuation companies, WorldUnion Property Assessment Co., Ltd (&ldquo 世 联 评 估 &rdquo ), revalued the land site to RMB 481 million (S$97.5 million), primarily based on the change in zoning from commercial to residential and the increase in land-use rights assigned to the land from its existing 40 years to 70 years.

 

Mount Yuntai Geopark (&ldquo 云 台 山 景 区 &rdquo ) &ndash One of the Top Tourist Attractions in China

 

Mount Yuntai Geopark was awarded as a Global Geopark Network in 2004 and UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (&ldquo UNESCO&rdquo ). The tourism site was also awarded the highest &ldquo AAAAA&rdquo rating under the Tourism Attraction Rating Categories of China with 8 prestigious National Titles accorded to it. Located approximately 69km northwest of Zhengzhou City, it is famous for its spectacular mountainous formations, with 36 peaks and more than 20 natural caves. Particularly, Hongshi Gorge红 石 峡 is the most prominent scenic spot with spectacular red rocks formations dating back to 1.4 billion years. In 2019, approximately 7 million visitors visited Mount Yuntai Geopark. For more information, please visit the official website: http://www.yuntaishan.net/.

 

Based on a highly recognised 2017 tourist spot survey () by The People' s Daily, 人 民 网 , the largest newspaper group in China, Mount Yuntai Geopark topped the chart and even overtook Beijing&rsquo s Palace Museum as the number one tourist spot.

 

Mount Yuntai Tourist Township &ndash Unveiling a New Eco-Living Attraction

 

The Place Holdings&rsquo Mount Yuntai Project is within Mount Yuntai Tourist Township, which is located at the entrance of Mount Yuntai Geopark. It is surrounded by 9 populated Chinese cities such as Zhengzhou 郑 州 , Jiaozuo焦 作 , Luoyang 洛 阳 , Kaifeng 开 封 , Xinxiang新 乡 , Jingcheng 晋 城 , etc. 

 

Within the radius of a 1-hour drive drive from Mount Yuntai Tourist Township, there is a catchment population of nearly 40 million. As such, Mount Yuntai Geopark has been a popular destination for urban dwellers to reconnect with nature and improve their physical and mental wellbeing.

 

Highly accessible and connected via various transportation networks, Mount Yuntai Tourist Township is a 25-minute drive from Jiaozuo High-Speed Rail Station and 1-hour drive from Zhengzhou International Airport.

 

Hospitality properties, hot springs rehabilitation centre, wellness centres, integrated retail and commercial developments and theme parks have been designed and planned for Mount Yuntai Tourist Township and the construction activities are progressing accordingly.

 

Notably, majority of the basic infrastructure (such as utilities, roads and sewage) system at Mount Yuntai Tourist Township has been completed.

 

China has one of the largest domestic tourism markets in the world with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism estimating there will be more than 4 billion trips made across China in 2021, a market worth just over RMB 500 billion(). 

 

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism China, domestic trips topped 230 million during the recent five-day Labor Day holiday in China with domestic tourism revenue increasing by 138.1% to RMB 113.23 billion on a year-on-year basis(). 

 

Catering to the burgeoning tourism and travel, wellness and cultural immersion trends in China, the Group intends to develop residential properties at this site to offer high-quality accommodations and other services within this popular and well-known tourist attraction in the Henan Province.