CapitaLand to manage mall at SingPost Centre

The third-party management contract will allow SingPost to focus on postal services and e-commerce

The SingPost Centre mall in Paya Lebar, expected to open in the second half of the year, has attracted tenants such as an NTUC FairPrice supermarket, Golden Village cineplex and a Kopitiam foodcourt.
The SingPost Centre mall in Paya Lebar, expected to open in the second half of the year, has attracted tenants such as an NTUC FairPrice supermarket, Golden Village cineplex and a Kopitiam foodcourt. PHOTO: CAPITALAND

CapitaLand Mall Asia has signed its first third-party mall management contract in Singapore, boosting its parent company CapitaLand's mall network here to 20.

The long-term contract with Singapore Post will see CapitaLand managing the upcoming mall at the new SingPost Centre in Paya Lebar - slated to open in the second half of this year.

"With CapitaLand as our retail mall manager, SingPost will be able to optimise returns from this property while we focus our attention on our core operations of postal services and e-commerce logistics," said SingPost covering group chief executive Mervyn Lim yesterday.

Under the property management agreement, CapitaLand will oversee the period leading up to the opening of the mall, its marketing and promotion as well as leasing and facilities management.

The mall in the new SingPost Centre - near Paya Lebar MRT station - spans five floors and has a net lettable area of about 175,000 sq ft.

This is CapitaLand's third mall management contract, following two secured in China - the retail mall at Fortune Finance Centre in Changsha last August and a mall in La Botanica township in Xi'an in January.

  • 3

    The number of third-party mall management contracts CapitaLand has secured in Asia - one in SIngapore and two in China

CapitaLand Mall Asia chief executive Jason Leow noted in a statement yesterday that the firm continues to look out for opportunities to grow its retail footprint via third-party management contracts, to complement its core strategy of developing and managing malls in Asia. "The signing of our first third-party mall management contract in Singapore - also our third across Asia in quick succession - demonstrates the scalability of our asset-light expansion strategy to grow our assets under management," he noted.

With the latest deal, CapitaLand's network of malls here will climb to 20, with a combined gross floor area of about 14.2 million sq ft, excluding carparking space.

Responding to a Straits Times query, Mr Leow said third-party management contracts enable the firm to take advantage of market opportunities to "rapidly scale up" its mall network.

"We can then benefit from the scale and network effect to boost our leasing efforts, increase operational efficiency and enhance the effectiveness of our shopper loyalty programmes in the cities we operate in," he said.

CapitaLand added that the SingPost Centre mall will augment its presence in eastern Singapore, where it currently owns and manages two malls - Tampines Mall and Bedok Mall.

It is also involved in a joint venture to develop the Jewel Changi Airport which is due to be ready in early 2019.

The SingPost Centre will house the new General Post Office and Philatelic Store and feature tenants, including supermart NTUC FairPrice, Golden Village cinemas and a Kopitiam foodcourt.

SingPost said the 300 sq m General Post Office will feature traditional counter service and technology-enabled innovations such as POPStations and eSAM machines.

There will also be a heritage corner where customers can learn about the postal service firm's 150 years of history.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 29, 2017, with the headline CapitaLand to manage mall at SingPost Centre. Subscribe