CapitaLand sets up US$1b China fund

SINGAPORE: CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia's biggest developer by sales, said it set up a US$1 billion (RM3.23 billion) private equity fund to invest in properties in Chinese cities.

The Raffles City China Fund will initially own the developer's 55.9 per cent stake in the Raffles City development in Shanghai and buy the three Raffles City projects that are being developed in Beijing, Chengdu and Hangzhou, it said in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange. The assets are valued at about US$2 billion, CapitaLand said.

CapitaLand, which owns more than 70 malls and developed homes in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, made close to 30 per cent of its revenue in China last year, up from 20 per cent in 2006. China's economy may grow 10.1 per cent this year, following the 11.9 per cent growth in 2007 that was the fastest in 13 years, according to economist estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

By Bloomberg