Suntec City occupies a prime location in the city of Singapore
The entrance to the newly-refurbished Suntec Singapore Convention &
Exhibition Centre that is fronted by the largest HD LED Screen in the world
2014 which brought two privately-held funds into its fold.
ARA also established an Australian platform to seize potential
investment opportunities and access capital markets. The
establishment of the Korean and Australian platforms
strengthened ARA’s presence in the Asia Pacific region,
expanding its reach to 15 cities across Singapore, Hong
Kong, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Australia. With these
new platforms in place, ARA is well-positioned to pursue
further growth opportunities in its respective markets.
As the largest shareholder of ARA with a 20.1% stake,
Straits Trading will continue to support ARA in delivering its
strategies to grow its REIT platforms through yield-accretive
acquisitions, while seeking opportunities in
private funds to
venture into new markets and jurisdictions.
Asset Enhancements to Suntec City
Under ARA’s management, Suntec REIT has substantially
completed Phases II & III of asset enhancement initiatives for
the remaking of the Suntec City retail mall and the Suntec
Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre (collectively
known as “Suntec City”). The REIT manager’s current priority
is to focus on proactive lease management to maintain high
occupancy levels of both its office and retail portfolios.
For more information on ARA Asset Management Limited,
please visit
STRAITS INVESTMENT PARTNERS
Straits Investment Partners is a managed account under ARA
that oversees Straits Trading’s investment property portfolio.
The Singapore investment properties include condominium
units at
Gallop Green and Good Class Bungalows (“GCBs”)
at Cable Road and Nathan Road. The portfolio in Malaysia
comprises Wisma Straits Trading as well as land, buildings
and shophouses at Butterworth, Penang.
In December 2014, Straits Trading Building was divested
to Sun Venture Group for $450 million, as part of Straits
Trading’s strategy of redeploying its capital into potentially
higher returning real estate opportunities, through SRE.
Straits Investment Partners will continue to look to maximise
the yield on its remaining real estate portfolio while
concurrently looking for attractive opportunities to divest
assets.
Straits Trading will continue to focus on creating greater
value to its stakeholders through its stakes in these various
real estate platforms and by leveraging off their capabilities
within the real estate ecosystem.
27
THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT 2014
