GuocoLand Limited ("GuocoLand" or "GLL"), a public company listed on the Singapore Exchange, is an award-winning developer whose developments are distinguished by quality, innovative designs and concepts. A major developer headquartered in Singapore, GuocoLand has substantial land bank in the embedded markets of Singapore, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, which it will continue to build on.
Singapore
As a major developer in the Singapore property market, GuocoLand has built up a quality land bank and a portfolio of prominent developments in the prime districts of Singapore – Goodwood Residence in the Orchard-Scotts area, Sophia Residence located at the prime Mount Sophia area and Leedon Heights Site, next to the prestigious Leedon Park Good Class Bungalow area. Acclaimed architects and landscape specialists have been engaged to work on these high-end developments to enhance their appeal to sophisticated home buyers. GuocoLand is recognized for its efforts in developing eco-friendly award-winning projects which includes receiving the prestigious Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum Award.
In November 2010, GuocoLand successfully acquired a land parcel which occupies a prime location in proximity to the Tanjong Pagar MRT station within the Central Business District (“CBD”) at a bid price of S$1.71 billion. GuocoLand’s proposed eco-friendly mixed use development on this 1.5 hectare site will be a landmark project. With a permissible building height of 280 metres above sea level, this development has the potential to be the tallest building in this area and will command panoramic views of the city skyline and across the CBD to the Marina Bay area. The Tanjong Pagar area has been earmarked by the Government for revamp into the next waterfront city,
GuocoLand also owns an office building known as Tung Centre which is located at Collyer Quay in Singapore’s Central Business District at Raffles Place.
China
GuocoLand’s wholly-owned subsidiary, GuocoLand China ("GLC"), has been active in China since 1994, with embedded operations in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Tianjin, which span residential, commercial, retail and hospitality. GLC is a significant property developer in China, with a sizable land bank of approximately 1.92 million square metres of gross floor area.
GLC has two integrated developments, namely, Beijing Guoson Centre in the Dongzhimen area of Beijing Dong Cheng District (“Beijing Guoson Centre”) and Shanghai Guoson Centre in the Changfeng area of Shanghai Putuo District (“Shanghai Guoson Centre”). These two integrated developments have garnered the Asia Pacific International Property Awards in association with Bloomberg Television 2010 for respectively, the “Best Mixed Use Development China”, the “Best Mixed Use Development Asia Pacific” and also the “Best International Mixed-use Development”.
Beijing Guoson Centre has approximately 600,000 square metres of gross floor area under development, comprising the 167,000 square metre retail Guoson Mall, the 5-star Guoman Hotel Beijing, twin office towers, the 188-unit Guoson Residences and 40,000 square metres of rooftop gardens called Guoson Green. Beijing Guoson Centre integrates a transportation hub which is in operation incorporating subway lines, a bus interchange and an express rail link to Beijing Capital International Airport in 16 minutes. The project was awarded the 2007/2008 Beijing Construction Great Wall Cup Golden Medal Award, the highest accolade for excellent construction quality.
Shanghai Guoson Centre is strategically located at the Changfeng Ecology Commercial District. With approximately 500,000 square metres of gross floor area, this development comprises the 107,573 square metre Guoson Mall, the 5-star 442-room Guoman Hotel Shanghai, office towers, 354 SoHo (Small office, Home office) units and service apartments. Hongqiao integrated transportation hub, just a 10 minutes’ drive away, offers connectivity via express rails to other cities including Hangzhou, Nanjing and Beijing.
In September 2010, GLL announced that the Group had tendered successfully in the proportion of 50:50 with Guoco Group Limited ("GGL") for a land parcel known as Plot 9 in Changfeng, Shanghai for an aggregate purchase consideration of Rmb3.04 billion. This site is located within the Changfeng Ecology Commercial District. It has a land area of 47,674.5 square metres and is slated for residential development.
In Nanjing, GLC has a 1,112-unit residential development called Ascot Park, which has been fully sold, and a 99% interest in a 296,002 square metre land parcel in Gujiaying area. The site is located near the Purple Mountains in the Xuanwu District. In Tianjin, GLC has a 1,176 units developement known as Seasons Park which has been fully sold.
Malaysia
In Malaysia, GuocoLand’s subsidiary GuocoLand (Malaysia) Berhad ("GLM"), listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (“Bursa Securities”), is a major developer of residential and commercial properties. GLM has a portfolio of prime projects which include Damansara CITY in Damansara Heights, Commerce One along Old Klang Road, Emerald Rawang and The Cirrus in Cheras. GLM has commenced operations of the refurbished former Guoman Port Dickson Resort and the Hyatt Regency Johor Bahru as the rebranded Thistle Port Dickson Resort and Thistle Johor Bahru, respectively.
GLM is the manager of and owns approximately 21.7% of Tower REIT which is listed on Bursa Securities. Tower REIT currently has an investment portfolio comprising three prime commercial buildings, namely, Menara HLA, HP Towers and Menara ING with a total net lettable area of approximately 83,452 square metres in strategic locations in Kuala Lumpur. GLM derives recurring management income in tandem with growth in the assets of Tower REIT.
Vietnam
GuocoLand’s maiden development investment in Vietnam is The Canary. The Canary will have the distinction of being the first fully-integrated development in Binh Duong Province, a leading recipient of Foreign Direct Investment among Vietnam’s provinces. The Canary is well-positioned to tap the potential growth of Binh Duong Province, the surrounding provinces of Ho Chi Minh City, and the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park.
The Canary will yield a total gross floor area of approximately 285,000 square metres and will include 1,200 residential apartments, a retail mall, a hotel, educational facilities including an international school.