Swire Properties takes stake in venture to gain foothold in Shanghai’s rising commercial district

Swire Properties said on Monday it had agreed to take a 50 per cent stake in a Shanghai joint venture for 1.35 billion yuan (US$214 million), a move that will help it gain a foothold in an up and coming commercial district in Pudong.

The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Citi-Fame Development signed a deal on Monday with state-owned Shanghai Newbund Industrial Development to take half of the equity interest in Shanghai Qianxiu, a 50-50 joint venture.

Shanghai Qianxiu will develop a retail project in Pudong’s Qiantan area, planned as Shanghai’s newest international business district. The project is expected to have a total gross floor area of about 1.25 million square feet, or 116,000 square metres.

“We are ready to form a joint venture with Shanghai Newbund Company to embark on our second development in Shanghai,” said Swire Properties chief executive Guy Bradley in a statement, describing the JV as an opportunity to take part in an important retail project in Pudong, an area with long-term growth potential.

“We will undoubtedly benefit from working with Shanghai Newbund Company, which has substantial local property development experience,” he added.

Qiantan is expected to become an integrated commercial, residential and cultural hub, benefiting from Shanghai’s rapid urbanisation and the increasing demand for commercial space outside the Lujiazui financial centre, Pudong’s traditional central business district.

If things proceeded as planned, the project will become Swire Properties’ second development in Shanghai after HKRI Taikoo Hui in the Puxi area, and its sixth project in mainland China.

Its four other large-scale projects are – Taikoo Li Sanlitun and Indigo in Beijing, TaiKoo Hui in Guangzhou and Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu in the provincial capital of Sichuan.

The Qiantian deal is subject to regulatory approvals.