Billion Dollar Club: REAL ESTATE COMPANIES
GuocoLand is the big winner for this year’s Billion Dollar Club (BDC) in the real estate industry sector. It won the overall title again, plus returns to shareholders and weighted return on equity (ROE). Singapore Land Group U06 ’s chart-topping show in profit after tax growth helped prevent GuocoLand F17 from making a clean sweep.
GuocoLand is a leading real estate group that invests in and develops properties. It develops, invests in, and manages a portfolio of quality commercial and mixed-use assets that provide stable, recurring rental income with potential for capital appreciation.
In recent years, under group CEO Cheng Hsing Yao, the company has embarked on a quick succession of projects that have put it very much on the map. First off was Guoco Tower, an iconic mixed development with commercial and retail components situated right next to the Tanjong Pagar MRT Station. Equally visibly, if not more so, GuocoLand has almost single-handedly transformed the Bugis and Beach Road area with its Guoco Midtown, which serves various uses, from residential to office to retail.
As of June 30, GuocoLand holds investment properties with a total value of $6.56 billion across its various markets, which, in addition to Singapore, include Guoco Changfeng City in Shanghai, China, and Damansara City in Kuala Lumpur.
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Singapore Land Group, meanwhile, came out tops in the profit after tax growth category with a CAGR of 44.2% in the three years under consideration for this year’s BDC. The company, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, has been listed since 1971. It holds a diversified real estate portfolio that spans commercial offices, retail properties, residential developments, hotels and IT services.
To date, its portfolio of commercial assets in Singapore includes 2.7 million square feet of office space and 1 million square feet of retail space. It owns overseas investment assets in China and the UK as well.
Despite its established presence, Singapore Land Group is constantly rejuvenating its portfolio to make its properties more attractive. For example, it is
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For example, its namesake Singapore Land Tower, as part of its asset enhancement initiative, installed a new façade to reduce heat transfer into the building to improve energy efficiency. The company is also working with Mandarin Oriental Singapore to rejuvenate the iconic John Portman-designed hotel in the Marina Square precinct. The refurbished hotel reopened last September with a fresh look.
Around the same period, the company announced it had received provisional permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority for the proposed partial redevelopment of Marina Square, which will see its rejuvenation into a vibrant mixed-use precinct. Together with its redevelopment of Clifford Centre, Singapore Land Group says it is doing its part to be aligned with the government’s efforts to refresh key areas in Singapore.
Meanwhile, it has been replenishing its landbank with the acquisition of the former Meyer Park for $392.2 million through a 20:80 joint venture between itself and parent company UOL last February, and it is constantly looking for new opportunities.
“Even as we steer the group towards achieving sustainable growth, our focus on fulfilling our environmental, social and governance commitments and maintaining the highest standards of business conduct remains unchanged,” says chairman Wee Ee Lim.
