Ascott propels growth of citadines brand in Singapore with two new properties in Raffles Place and Rochor Precinct

Singapore – CapitaLand's wholly owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited(Ascott), has stepped up its presence in Singapore by securing contracts to manage two properties strategically located in the Central Business District (CBD) and near the Ophir-Rochor Corridor, the city's new growth area and extension of the CBD. Both properties will operate under the Citadines brand, Ascott's fastest growing brand in Singapore and globally. The Citadines serviced residence in Raffles Place and Citadines Rochor Singapore, which will offer a total of over 600 units, are Ascott's two largest properties in the country.

Mr Ervin Yeo, Ascott's Regional General Manager for Singapore and Malaysia, said: "We see strong potential for Ascott to expand in Singapore as the government is ramping up efforts to attract multinational companies and innovative startups as part of its drive to shape Singapore's future economy. Our quality Citadines property in Raffles Place is part of a future landmark integrated development, which will also comprise a premium Grade A office tower that is on par with the tallest buildings in Raffles Place. It will be designed to appeal to the professionals working in the heart of Singapore's financial hub, that is home to top multinational corporations and a wide array of entertainment and dining outlets."

"We also see opportunities to cater to the new catchment of working professionals with Singapore's push for decentralisation of offices to new commercial hubs beyond the CBD. Citadines Rochor Singapore enjoys a prime location close to the Ophir-Rochor Corridor and Beach Road area – emerging commercial hubs with large-scale integrated developments, offices, as well as recreational and cultural attractions. Adding our two biggest properties in Singapore will enable us to cater to the expected growing demand for accommodation."

Ascott's premier serviced residence in the CBD, Ascott Raffles Place Singapore, has been achieving strong average occupancy rate of 80%, which is better than the 77%¹ average occupancy of other serviced residences in the district. Meanwhile, Citadines Mount Sophia Singapore and Somerset Bencoolen Singapore that are in the vicinity of Citadines Rochor Singapore have been performing well at an average occupancy rate of about 85%, which beats the industry performance of 77%¹.

He added: "With the addition of these two well-located properties, Citadines will become Singapore's leading serviced residence brand with the most number of units – 989 units across five properties. This will increase our management contracts in Singapore, which will generate a steady stream of recurring income for Ascott. We also recently announced our investment in lyf Funan Singapore. Ascott remains the largest and fastest growing serviced residence operator in Singapore with close to 2,300 units across 13 properties."

The 299-unit Citadines property in Raffles Place and the 320-unit Citadines Rochor Singapore are slated to open in 2021 and 2020 respectively. Please see Annex for details of the two properties.

Ascott has added five properties in Singapore in the last five months as the country continues to be a draw for business and leisure travellers. Singapore is the world's third most competitive city² with the most conducive infrastructure for businesses³. Tourist arrival and spending hit historical high last year⁴. Singapore was ranked the top Asian city for expatriates⁵, and one of the top Asian countries amongst the world's most liveable cities⁶.

Through its serviced residence global fund with Qatar Investment Authority, Ascott recently acquired the serviced residence component of the Funan integrated development which will be named lyf Funan Singapore. It will be Singapore's first property to open under Ascott's new coliving brand, lyf, in 2020. Two other properties are targeted to open in 2021, namely Citadines Balestier Singapore and lyf Farrer Park Singapore.

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