CapitaLand

CapitaLand’s serviced residence arm, The Ascott, has secured four new contracts to manage over 850 units in four Asian markets. These contract wins will expand Ascott’s portfolio to 42,000 service apartments in 94 cities across 26 countries.

Of the four new properties, Citadines Han River Seoul (149 units) will be the first to open in 1Q16. The remaining three properties, Citadines Punaka Yogyakarta (308 units), Somerset Arcadia Miri (200 units), and Citadines Central Binh Duong (200 units) are expected to be ready in 2018.

The new contracts in Yogyakarta, and Miri, mark Ascott’s first foray to those cities while the other two properties are its fourth and third ventures in Vietnam and South Korea respectively.

Ascott’s recent JV with the Qatar Investment Authority to set up a US$600m fund will help provide it with ammunition for acquisitions as the Ascott moves to hit its target of 80,000 units globally by 2020.

Management is also looking to tap into growth opportunities in the technology space. In this regard, it is leading a consortium to invest over $120m in Tujia, China’s version of Airbnb.

In addition, Ascott is also partnering Samsung Asia to jointly develop Internet-of-Things-ready smart serviced residences.

CapitaLand is currently trading at about 31% discount to its Jun '15 NAV. The street has 20 Buy and 3 Hold ratings with an average TP of $3.98.