CapitaLand wins bid for Guangzhou Science City site for $175.2m

It plans to build a development comprising of office, retail space and serviced residence by 2022.

CapitaLand clinched a 4.7 hectare mixed-use site for $175.2m (RMB882m) in Guangzhou Science City, China which is a government-backed innovation and technology hub, an announcement revealed.

The gross floor area (GFA) to be developed on the site totals 142,107 sqm according to CapitaLand, of which 70% will be dedicated to investment assets such as office, retail space and serviced residence. The remaining 30% will be developed into low-density strata offices.

The development is slated for completion by 2022, the firm said.

“Growing demand for office space in Guangzhou Science City, underpinned by Guangzhou’s push to attract innovation and tech companies, has led to a historical low vacancy and growing rents in the core business area,” CapitaLand China CIO Puah Tze Shyang. “Given its strategic location and premium specifications, our new site is well-positioned to capture the influx of businesses, research institutions and technopreneurs attracted to China’s Silicon Valley.”

Guangzhou Science City is home to more than 110 Fortune-500 companies and over 380 research and development facilities, the announcement revealed. The area is part of China’s plans to turn Guandgong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from a manufacturing base into a science and technology hub.

“Including this latest acquisition and the two prime residential sites in Zengcheng District added in August, CapitaLand will have a diverse pipeline of multi asset types in Guangzhou coming onstream between 2021 and 2022,” CapitaLand China & Investment Management president Lucas Loh said. “In China this year, CapitaLand has to-date divested close to $2b worth of assets; and made investments into new higher-yielding assets valued at $1.05b.”

CapitaLand owns and manages 45 developments across eight cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.