BlackRock invests in city plaza
BlackRock Inc has recently acquired a 90-percent stake in a commercial plaza in Shanghai, the first foray into the China market by the United States investment management company.
Hong Kong-based VXL Capital Ltd, which acquired the property on Changshou Road in 2006 at a total expense of about 585 million yuan (US$84.5 million), sold the 90-percent share to BlackRock for about 1.1 billion yuan, Shanghai Security News reported yesterday.
After the deal, VXL Capital still holds a 10-percent stake in the project.
The Changshou Commercial Plaza, located in Putuo District and comprising two six-storey shopping malls, has a total gross floor area of 40,345 square meters.
Trading in VXL Capital shares and warrants has been suspended from 9:30am on Thursday pending the release of an announcement in relation to a major transaction, VXL Capital said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Lina Wong, managing director for Colliers International’s East China operation, said offshore equity deal remains a major deal structure for overseas investors to acquire property in the Chinese mainland. She said it could help investors circumvent the central government’s restrictions on overseas capital entering the domestic property market, a policy aimed to squeeze out speculations and curb prospects of the market overheating.
Last month, Hong Kong’s Hutchison Harbour Ring announced it had sold The Center, a 40-story Grade A office tower on Changle Road to Asia Pacific Land Limited for about 4.4 billion yuan.
Tags: China Investment, china stock