Citic Capital eyes pair of retail developments
Asset manager steps up shopping mall push on the mainland to tap urbanisation boom
State-controlled asset management firm Citic Capital Holdings has cast a vote of confidence in the mainland's retail property sector with plans to buy two projects.
"We plan to close the two deals by the end of this year, both more than 100,000 sqmetres in gross floor area," said Stanley Ching Hiu-yuen, senior managing director of real estate.
Ching did not reveal the investment amount but said one was in a first-tier city and the other in a second-tier city.
Founded in 2002, Citic Capital counts among its shareholders China Investment Corp, the country's sovereign wealth fund, and Citic Group, the largest conglomerate on the mainland, through subsidiaries Citic International Financial Holdings and Citic Pacific.
Citic Capital's real estate business, established in 2005, focuses on the mainland market and has launched four managed funds and one co-investment platform. The total investment amounts to between US$3 billion and US$4 billion.
Last year, the company closed a US$683 million fundraising campaign for the fourth fund, which focuses on retail properties on the mainland. It has already invested part of the new fund in three projects, including a shopping mall in Changsha in Hunan province, another in Hefei, Anhui province, and a third in Shanghai.