CapitaLand's wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited, has secured contracts to manage its first three properties under its latest brand, lyf, in China and Singapore.

This marks the launch of Ascott's new co-living concept in China as it aims to capture the booming millennial market.

The three properties include the 112-unit lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen, which will open in the first half of next year. The 120-unit lyf DDA Dalian is scheduled to open at the end of next year. The lyf Farrer Park Singapore, the biggest of the three lyf properties with 240 units, is slated to open in 2021.

Co-living is seen as a modern, urban type of accommodation with shared living spaces. To cater to millennial or millennial-minded business and leisure travellers, the apartments will have an unconventional design and there will be social spaces with facilities like social kitchens, and co-working and event spaces, said Ascott.

Ascott launched lyf (pronounced "life"), a brand targeted at millennials, last November.

It had also launched a living lab in February together with the Singapore Management University to field test lyf's co-living concepts and understand millennial usage patterns.