Rowsley & Vietnam's Hoang Anh Gia Lai in proposed joint venture in Yangon
Rowsley & Vietnam's Hoang Anh Gia Lai in proposed joint venture in Yangon
Rowsley Ltd, a Singapore real estate developer and architectural and engineering consultancy firm, and Vietnam's Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company (HAGL), today announced a proposed deal for a mixed-use development valued at US$550 million in Yangon, Myanmar.
Under a Heads of Terms Agreement signed today, Rowsley will invest US$275 million for a 50 per cent stake in a company that wholly owns the HAGL Myanmar Centre, one of the country's largest integrated projects.
It includes four office blocks, a five-star hotel, a retail mall, serviced apartments and residential apartments, it said in a statement.
The investment will be Rowsley's first real estate deal after its Iskandar development project in Malaysia and since its transition from an investment holding company to a major integrated real estate group with investment, development, planning, architectural and engineering capabilities.
Rowsley Chief Executive Officer Lock Wai Han said: "We are delighted to participate in this investment with HAGL.
"The HAGL Myanmar Centre will be a major landmark in Yangon when completed as it is the largest and first modern integrated development in the country.
"Myanmar has seen rapid development over the last few years and is without doubt, Asia's rising star.
"Yangon currently faces a severe shortage of top grade office space, hotels and modern malls. The first phase of the HAGL Myanmar Centre will be operational in 2015 and immediately address the acute shortage of real estate in all these asset classes."
HAGL will make further investments and undertake the construction of the entire project.
The detailed terms and conditions for the joint venture (JV) are to be agreed in due course and shall be subject to, amongst other things, due diligence and all requisite regulatory approvals.
Spread over more than 73,000 sq metres of land located in a prime neighbourhood next to Inya Lake in Yangon, the HAGL Myanmar Centre has a land lease term of 50 years plus an option for another 10+10 years.
It will have a total net gross floor area of almost 640,000 sq m when fully completed in 2018, comprising both commercial and residential components.
The Group intends to fund the investment through a mix of debt, equity and bank borrowings.
