Treasury China keen on acquisitions

SINGAPORE: Singapore-listed Treasury China Trust (TCT) is on the lookout for more property acquisitions in China, after making two purchases earlier this year and having several projects under development, its chief executive said.

"We certainly have excess capacity in our platform to take on new opportunities and that's our focus over the next 12-18 months," CEO Richard David told the Reuters Global Real Estate and Infrastructure Summit on Tuesday.

TCT, which is structured as a business trust, owns and manages about 12 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) worth of commercial real estate in China.

Earlier this year, the trust bought a mall in Shanghai for 575 million yuan and completed the purchase of a 55 percent stake in a mall in the port city of Qingdao.

TCT has about 800,000 square metres of office and retail space in China, about 300,000 square metres of which is completed and generating rental income.

David said TCT has already locked in the funding for its various projects and the main focus in the near term is in retail property where it saw the biggest opportunity.

Copyright Reuters, 2011