M+S confirms S$1.58 billion Duo sale to Allianz-Gaw team-up

Tue, Jul 30, 2019

ANNABETH LEOW


THE national joint venture between Malaysia and Singapore is divesting part of a signature mixed-use project in the Republic's Ophir-Rochor precinct, as reported by The Business Times in May.

M+S Pte Ltd will sell the office and retail areas of Duo for S$1.575 billion, or S$2,570 per square foot (sq ft) of net lettable area, the developer said in a statement on Monday night. The land has a 99-year leasehold tenure.

The Duo sale - to Allianz Real Estate and Hong Kong private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners - comprises Duo Tower, an office block with 570,000 sq ft of prime Grade-A commercial space, and Duo Galleria, which has 56,000 sq ft of retail space.

But Andaz Singapore - a Hyatt-branded luxury hotel that occupies the top 15 floors of Duo Tower - will remain in M+S's hands after the deal.

M+S, which owns the mixed-use Marina One in Marina Bay as well, is 60 per cent-held by Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, with the rest belonging to Singapore national investor Temasek Holdings.

The ground was laid for Duo and Marina One in a landmark 2010 land-swop deal that saw Malaysia trade former Malayan Railway land parcels in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji, Woodlands and Bukit Timah, in exchange for the Ophir-Rochor and Marina South sites.

Kemmy Tan, chief executive of M+S, said in a statement that the firm still sees "tremendous growth opportunity" for Duo's hotel component.

"M+S will continue to own and manage Andaz Singapore and the Marina One assets to the optimal level for our shareholders," she added.

Meanwhile, Gaw Capital Partners president and managing principal Kenneth Gaw called the Duo deal "an important milestone for Gaw Capital in the Singapore real estate market".

"This deal marks our second major office transaction in Singapore in 2019 and signifies our continued optimism towards the office market here," Mr Gaw added.

His firm, which focuses on real estate, recently paid nearly S$710 million for the 77, Robinson Road office block. Its other investments in the Bugis district, near Duo, are Hotel G in Middle Road, and the office and retail development PoMo in Selegie Road, bought with Allianz in 2017.