CapitaLand Investment (CLI) is seeking to expand its business in Australia, as revealed during its investor day on Nov 22. The company announced the appointment of two senior executives to newly created roles, in order to enhance its talent pool and drive growth in its target market. The two hires are Angelo Scasserra, who will take on the role of CEO for CLI Australia, and Rahul Bharara, who will serve as its chief investment officer. They are expected to join the company in the first half of 2025.
In addition, CLI has announced its plans to invest up to A$1 billion ($876.7 million) in order to increase its funds under management (FUM) in Australia. This follows the recent closure of its Australian Credit Programme (ACP) in September, which was CLI’s first credit fund at A$265 million, and received backing from investors in Asia.
During the investor day, CLI’s group CEO Lee Chee Koon stated, “For private credit, we have built our own team and formed a partnership with teams from Wingate in Australia, originating and underwriting deals. There is a lot more pipeline we can build in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Interestingly, on Nov 25, the Australian Financial Review published a story reporting that CLI was planning to acquire Wingate. It is worth noting that in 2014, CapitaLand divested Australand Property Group, which was later acquired by Frasers Property and rebranded as Frasers Property Australia. During the Q&A session at the investor day, CLI’s chairman Miguel Ko addressed the decision to sell Australand and invest more in China, stating that it was made before his time and he did not want to comment on his predecessors’ actions. He also added that the company did not have the ability to foresee the current situation in China and did not want to pass judgement on their decisions. At the time, China was experiencing a boom and CapitaLand had a strong competitive advantage. He stated, “That could have been a major win or a wrong move. This is not a comment on whether my predecessors made a right or wrong decision.”
Former CapitaLand president and group CEO Lim Ming Yan had previously stated that the divestment was made during “favorable” market conditions and Australand’s share price had been performing well in the months leading up to the sale. He also added, “This divestment would allow us to reallocate capital to our core businesses in Singapore and China.” CapitaLand had sold its remaining 39.1% stake in Australand in March 2014, following a partial divestment in November 2013, in order to improve trading liquidity.
In conclusion, CLI’s recent move to expand its business in Australia highlights the company’s focus on strategic growth and its confidence in the potential of the Australian market.
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