Hongkong Land shares jump 12% on S$738.7 million MCL Land divestment

This follows its move to sell its Singapore and Malaysia property arm to Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Group

Shares of Hongkong Land soared in early trade on Friday (Sep 19) a day after the real estate group announced the S$738.7 million sale of its development arm MCL Land.

As at 9.38 am, the counter hit US$7.45, with 3.4 million shares changing hands. This was 12 per cent or S$0.80 above Thursday’s closing price of US$6.65.

The stock had retreated to US$7.05 as at 10.18 am, but was still up 6 per cent or S$0.40, with more than 4.8 million shares having changed hands.

On Thursday, Hongkong Land said it would sell its Singapore and Malaysia property arm MCL Land to Malaysia’s Sunway Group.

The S$738.7 million cash deal was Sunway’s largest deal to date and sent its investment in Singapore past S$1.2 billion.

Sunway will assume ownership of MCL Land and its subsidiaries following the deal. This includes ongoing development projects in Singapore, as well as MCL Land’s portfolio of income generating and development assets in Malaysia.

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Hongkong Land chief executive Michael Smith told the media on Thursday that the deal is at net asset value.