Southeast Asia Business Roundup
Singapore
Effissimo Capital Management Pte, the Singapore-based hedge fund set up by former colleagues of activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami, increased its stake in the Japanese shipper Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd to 34.1 percent, a level that gives it the right to veto some proposals at shareholder meetings.Stock owners with more than a third of voting rights can reject resolutions on areas such as mergers or director dismissals.
Indonesia
Jungleland theme park operator PT Graha Andrasentra Propertindo is aiming to raise between Rp 300 to 345 billion from its public offering this year. The company will offer up to 2.3 billion shares, or 10.19 per cent of the paid up capital, at a price of Rp 130 –150 each.
The funds will be used for refinancing debts and funding water park projects in a number of cities across Indonesia.
Graha Propertindo is expected to list its shares on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) on 4 July.
Graha Propertindo is a subsidiary of PT Bakrieland Development Tbk
(ELTY) which owns and operates three recreational theme parks – Jungleland Sentul, The Jungle Bogor, and JungleFest Bogor.
In response to the growth in tourism in Indonesia, Graha Propertindo has charted out expansion plans that include opening more theme parks in Malang, Medan, Sidoarjo, Bandung, Palembang, Makassar, Yogyakarta, and Cirebon.
Vietnam/Singapore
Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd recently acquired Kumho Asiana
Plaza Saigon, a mixed-use complex located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh
City’s central business district.
While the value of the deal was not disclosed, the Singaporean real estate investment firm said this was Mapletree’s largest acquisition involving a completed, income-producing property in Vietnam.
‘It is in line with the group’s overall strategy to invest in strong-yielding assets to further grow its business and earnings,’ it said in a statement.
Kumho Asiana Plaza comprises Grade A offices, highly-rated serviced apartments and a hotel managed by InterContinental Hotels Group, as well as a variety of food and beverage offerings.
Mapletree entered Vietnam in 2005, and its current portfolio spans office, retail, serviced apartment assets, to industrial and logistics. Most of the projects are developed within central business districts of the country’s biggest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, alongside four logistics parks across the country.
The Singaporean company is also in the midst of developing Saigon South
Place, a mixed-use project in non-CBD area of Ho Chi Minh City.
Philippines
Commercial bank giant BDO Unibank Inc has acquired the credit card business of SB Cards Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Security Bank Corp, for an undisclosed sum.
Both banks earlier signed the agreement allowing BDO to accept SB Cards’ offer to sell its rights as the exclusive issuer and acquirer of Diners Club International (DCI) credit cards in the Philippines.
