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June 30, 2016

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Home » City specials » Ningbo

Jiangbei District modeled after Singapore

By Cherry Cao | June 30, 2016, Thursday | Print Edition

EXCEPT for their proximity to the sea, Ningbo and Singapore don’t really have much in common. But in less than three years, a 2.5-billion-yuan (US$375 million) mixed-use development modelled after the tropical garden city will be completed in Ningbo’s Jiangbei District, an area earmarked as the new CBD in the city’s north regional commercial hub. It will give the locals a glimpse into how Singapore-style neighborhood looks like.

The developer of this project is Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd, which is one of Asia’s leading property development, investment and management companies. The Singapore-based company is hoping that this project will serve as an important stepping stone as it continues to tap into China’s lucrative property development market.

“This is Mapletree’s maiden entry into Ningbo, a vibrant second-tier city in Zhejiang Province with a fast-rising GDP and high per capita disposal income,” said Quek Kwang Meng, Mapletree regional CEO for China and India. “Modeled after Singapore, this Ningbo project will showcase four areas that Singapore is well known for, namely, retail, residential, medical treatment and education.”

In June 2014, the company’s US$1.4 billion China-focused private fund — Mapletree China Opportunity Fund II — secured the mixed-use development project in Jiangbei, a mature district in Ningbo whose population density ranks third within the city. The construction of integrated development commenced about a year later. Spanning over 8.5 hectares of land and consisting of three phases, the project has a gross floor area of 310,000 square meters comprising a retail mall, 13 residential blocks, street shops as well as a medical center.

The high-end mall is positioned as the go-to family and lifestyle destination in Ningbo and will feature a cineplex, as well as a mix of shopping, dining and entertainment options. To complement the mall, more than 15,000 square meters in GFA of street shops will be added around the residential blocks. Besides the retail and residential components, the mixed-use development will also feature a medical center with 25,000 square meters in GFA, a highlight of the project, and a concept that Mapletree is testing out in China for the first time.

“China is slowly opening up its healthcare sector and Mapletree is keen to seize this opportunity and potentially build on this project and venture into developing hospitals and old folks’ homes in the future,” Quek said. “Healthcare as well as education are increasingly important niche sectors for the China market and it is our hope to tap this trend by becoming the real estate partner of healthcare and education players in the country.”

Since entering the China market in 2005, Mapletree is now present in more than 15 Chinese cities including Hong Kong with a portfolio comprising logistics, industrial, office, retail and mixed-use real estate. Currently, China is among Mapletree’s largest overseas markets with the mainland alone accounting for 15 percent of the group’s total owned and managed assets in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, and Hong Kong about 22 percent.

The company has worked out a strategy to develop integrated mixed-use or single-use projects in China. It also plans to invest in promising assets with value enhancement potential in both China’s first- and second-tier cities.

“Ningbo is a very challenging market but we are lucky that the government there is very warm and helpful. They have offered us a lot of help since we first entered the market,” Quek said.

“As a comparatively new player in the country’s residential sector, it is important for us to do something first and then show what we have done to other people and let projects speak for themselves.”

Ningbo


 

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