Will Seletar Mall be divested by SPH?

Its recent acquisition of a Bidadari mixed site could be a sign.

Singapore Press Holdings recently announced that its consortium with JV partner Kajima Development has been awarded for $1.13b the HDB tender for a 99-year leasehold site at Upper Serangoon Rd.

According to OCBC, this mixed site is part of the Bidadari Estate and the tender conditions state that, as part of the development the consortium has to build a 6k sqm community center, a 2.19k sqm neighborhood police center as well as a commercial bridge towards Bidadari Park and an underpass to connect to the bus interchange.

The brokerage firm is seeing SPH having a strong balance sheet and low 26% net gearing. More so, it noted that SPH has ample capital headroom for a greenfield development that could make divestment of the Seletar Mall more likely.

"With this acquisition, we also see a higher chance that Seletar Mall will be divested over the nearer term as the group recycles capital from a stabilized development to a green-field project," OCBC Investment Research said.