CapitaMalls Asia on a massive acquisition spree

CMA will spend S$662.2m to acquire shopping malls in Tokyo and Qingdao.

Here's more from OCBC:

Acquisitions in Tokyo and Qingdao
CMA announced it would acquire Olinas Mall in Tokyo from Tiger Eye Realty Yugen Kaisha, for JPY 22.8b (S$367.3m). In addition, it expects to acquire a shopping mall site in Qingdao, China from Vanke Real Estate Group Co. Ltd, with a total development cost of RMB 1,457m (S$294.9m).

Eighth Japanese mall acquired
The freehold-lease Olinas Mall has a GFA of 583k sq ft (NLA 381k sq ft), with 853 parking spaces, and is ~400m away from the JP Kinshicho Station. It is currently at 100% occupancy, with an NPI yield of 6%, given the acquisition price of S$964 psf NLA. CMA expects positive rental reversions and tenant mix optimization to bump the yield to around 7% levels when rental renewals begin in 2015-2016. CMA would fund the acquisition with 50-55% debt, with the JPY exposure hedged out.

Greenfield shopping mall in Qingdao
The 23.7k sqm site in Qingdao is situated in the Sifang District, strategically located in the New Urban Center, and  would house a sixstorey shopping mall with a GFA of 89.7k sqm. This would be CMA’s first mall in Qingdao and  completion is expected in 2015. The total development cost translates to a GFA psm price of RMB 16.2k. CMA  expects an NPI yield of 4-5% initially, and a stabilized NPI yield in the region of 8%-9% after the first rental cycle.

Appetite for acquisitions stay strong
Both acquisitions appear to be fairly priced, in our view, and we see limited RNAV accretion at this juncture. We note CMA’s access to capital remains healthy; management indicates that it currently has ~S$550m cash and expects net gearing to rise to 30% end-FY12 from 25% presently. We believe CMA’s active acquisition stance, after recent divestments to a new USD1.0b private fund, points to an unabated appetite for portfolio expansion and capital recycling despite current macro uncertainties.