Singapore’s first China retail property trust, Dasin Retail Trust Management, reports “stellar performance” for its first half, with revenue and net property income of S$21.4 million (US$15.7 million) and $17.4 million respectively.
Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will enhance the area’s connectivity and infrastructure as well as increase investment significantly, says Daisin Retail Trust (DRT) chairman Zhang Zhencheng.
“In the emerging urban Zhongshan city, DRT, with its defensive asset portfolio of quality retail properties, will be able to capitalise on this development, being strategically located within the fast-growing Pearl River Delta region.”
He says the city’s GDP grew 7.4 per cent year-on-year to reach RMB175.2 billion (US$26.2 billion) in the first half of this year, which compares favourably to the overall economy in China, which expanded 6.9 per cent.
There was an uplift in the trust’s overall performance thanks to the second-quarter acquisition of Shiqi Metro Mall earlier than expected, says CEO Li Wen. “As testament to our leasing capabilities, DRT’s portfolio registered 100 per cent occupancy as at the end of June.”
During the same quarter, the first Suning.com online-to-offline retail store in Zhongshan opened in Xiaolan Metro Mall after more than a month of store enhancement works costing RMB20 million. Fashion, service and F&B brands were welcomed into the portfolio, improving the trade mix as well as enhancing the shopping experience, says the trust. As a result, the portfolio also registered full occupancy.
DRT says it will benefit from a right-of-first-refusal (ROFR) pipeline of 19 properties spanning Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Shunde and Macau. DRT’s aggregate gross floor area (GFA) will expand by about 2.6 times if all purchase options and ROFR properties are acquired, excluding nine uncompleted ROFR properties for which the GFAs have yet to be determined.
