Keppel to acquire 40% stake in China residential development for $283m

They eye to build 1,728 apartment units and 50 street-front shop units.

Keppel Land China will acquire 40% stake for $283m from Chinese property development firm Gemdale to jointly develop an 8.8 ha prime residential site in Nanjing for $283m (RMB1.4b), an announcement revealed.

Situated at the core of the Nanjing Jiangbei New Area, the site has a permissible gross floor area (GFA) of 193,139 sq m. The JV eyes to build 1,728 units of high-rise apartments and 50 units of street-front shops., with Phase 1 comprising 787 units expected to be launched in Q4 2018 and the entire project eyed for completion by Q2 2022.

"Our entry into Nanjing is in line with the company's strategy to expand our presence in the Yangtze River Delta region," Keppel Land China president Ben Lee said.

The Nanjing development site enjoys good connectivity to the city centre as it is a mere 15-minute drive away from Hexi Central Business District (CBD) and a 30-minute drive away from Nanjing city centre. It is also surrounded by amenities such as the upcoming regional shopping mall Jiangbei Wonder City, Gulou Hospital Jiangbei Branch, amongst others.

Keppel has entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) with Gemdale Nanjing and the latter's related nominee to acquire all of the shares in Eternal Commercial. The SPA is set for completion by 25 September, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions.

Eternal holds about 40% stake in Nanjing Jinsheng Real Estate which will undertake the proposed development of the prime residential site. The remaining 60% stake is held by the Gemdale group of companies.