Shui On Land to split commercial property assets

The developer of Shanghai's Xintiandi area, Shui On Land Ltd, will start operation of an asset management company on March 1, to manage Shui On Land's commercial property assets, Shui On Land Chairman Vincent H.S. Lo said on Wednesday.

The company, China Xintiandi, which was registered last year, will split Shui On Land's commercial properties in the Chinese mainland including Xiantiandi Shanghai, a landmark commercial block, and its goal is to launch an initial public offering.

According to Lo, after the assets restructuring, Shui On Land will become a single-business property developer, while China Xintiandi will play a big role in managing commercial property projects developed by Shui On Land.

"Currently, 28 billion yuan worth of commercial projects have been completed, and another 40 billion yuan new projects are under construction, which will guarantee China Xintiandi has a large portfolio of commercial projects to select," said Freddy Lee, managing director and chief executive officer of Shui On Land.

Shui On Ltd's board of directors of announced on May 28 that the company had proposed an assets split, with a separate listing of China Xintiandi Co Ltd on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The exchange has confirmed the proposal. However, the details of the split, such as what part of assets will be injected into China Xintiandi will be announced later, pending approval by the exchange, the company said earlier.