Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) has sold a suburban shopping centre, Changi City Point, in Singapore鈥檚 east for S$338m (鈧230m) to an unnamed buyer.
Frasers Asset Management, the manager of FCT, said the asset was sold at 4% above the independent valuation of S$325m on 31 July 2023 and would generate an estimated capital gain of S$20m.
Changi City Point, which was completed in 2011, sits on land leased from Jurong Town Corporation for 60 years from 2009.
Richard Ng, CEO of Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management, said the divestment was part of the trust鈥檚 strategic portfolio review to strengthen FCT鈥檚 portfolio resilience in line with its long-term objective to create value for FCT鈥檚 unitholders.
Ng said the sale proceeds would reduce the trust鈥檚 gearing from 40.2% to 37.1% and reduce the average cost of borrowings for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2022.
鈥淥n the portfolio performance attributes, following the divestment, we expect uplifts in committed occupancy rate, average gross rent per square foot, tenants鈥 sales per square foot and the average remaining lease tenure of the retail portfolio,鈥 Ng said.
鈥淭hese put FCT in a strong position to focus on our core suburban retail strategy going forward,鈥 he added.
Upon completion of the divestment, expected in November, FCT鈥檚 retail portfolio will comprise nine retail properties, all located in the suburban regions of Singapore.
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