ARA Asia Dragon Fund Acquires Prime Landmark Office cum Retail Building in Nanjing, China

ARA Asset Management Limited (“ARA” or the “Group”) is pleased to announce that its flagship private real estate fund, the ARA Asia Dragon Fund (“ADF”), has recently completed the acquisition of the Nanjing International Finance Center (“Nanjing IFC”), a newly completed 51-storey Grade A office cum retail building with a leasable GFA of 109,196 sqm. The total purchase consideration for the transaction was RMB1.6 billion (approximately S$340 million).

Located in the heart of Xinjiekou, the central business district and premier retail hub of Nanjing, the Nanjing IFC sits at the crossroads of Zhong San Nan Lu and Han Zhong Lu atop the Xinjiekou Metro station, the main interchange station for the Nanjing Metro.

Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, is a key industrial base in Eastern China and possesses a
large skilled labour base supported by numerous universities and research institutions. With a
population of six million, Nanjing is one of the fastest growing second-tier cities in China.

Mr John Lim, Group CEO of ARA, said, “We are extremely pleased to have this rare opportunity for the
ADF to acquire a prime landmark office building in the heart of the premier commercial district of Nanjing, one of the major cities in China. We are currently seeing

The Nanjing International Finance Center many value opportunities in the real estate sector in China as a result of the current liquidity crunch. The Group maintains a positive medium to long-term view for China and will continue to invest in China via our funds.” The ADF completed its third and final closing in June 2008 with aggregate capital commitments in excess of US$1.13 billion. With a mandate to invest across Asia with a primary focus on the main cities of China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and a secondary focus on other emerging economies in Asia, the ADF attracted a broad range of investors including public pension funds, foundations and other global institutional investors seeking to
invest in a diversified portfolio of real estate investments in Asia. Leveraging on ARA’s experience and intimate knowledge of the real estate market in Asia, the ADF seeks to make strategic and opportunistic investments in real estate and real estate-related assets within its mandate with the goal of optimizing total return from a combination of income and capital appreciation.

The ADF is managed by ARA Fund Management (Asia Dragon) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ARA.

source : ARA