ARA Asset Management has partnered with Singapore and Chinese investors to acquire a shopping mall in Shanghai for about RMB2.42bn (€310m).
A private fund managed by ARA will jointly own Sanlin InCity in Pudong with Singapore-based Straits Trading and China’s ICBC International.
Straits Trading subsidiary SREV16 has committed to take a 37.7% stake in the asset for RMB441.9m, while the ARA fund and ICBC International subsidiary Fine Process Limited holding the balance.
Straits Trading, a listed group in Singapore and a major shareholder of ARA, said the Pudong mall centre opened for trading in the last quarter of 2018 and was currently 91.3% occupied.
It said the investment offered an opportunity to upgrade the tenant profile and capitalise on positive rental reversions.
The acting CEO of ARA Private Funds, David Kim, said: “We have studied the property and are ready to execute our asset enhancement and repositioning plans upon completion of the deal.”
Kim said the acquisition was ARA’s second in China this year. ARA acquired The Atrium in Chengdu in June in a 50-50 joint venture with CICC Qihang Fund, a fund set up by investment bank China International Capital Corporation.
“ARA’s investments in The Atrium in Chengdu and Sanlin InCity in Shanghai this year demonstrate our positive outlook on commercial real estate in China,” Kim said.
Excluding Sanlin InCity, ARA’s portfolio in Mainland China includes 10 assets in the office, retail and hospitality sectors worth approximately RMB76.7bn at 30 September 2019.
