Mapletree Real Estate Advisors Pte Ltd (“MREAL”) is Mapletree’s private capital management arm headquartered in Singapore and is fully owned by Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd.
Singapore – Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd (“Mapletree”) today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to enter into a joint venture with Japan’s ITOCHU Corporation (“ITOCHU”) to undertake primarily Build-to-Suit development projects for strong logistics tenants in Japan.
The two companies also cemented their strategic alliance by extending for a further two years through another MOU to collaborate on investment and development of logistics, retail, industrial and commercial real estate projects in Japan, Singapore and the rest of Asia. This marked the second extension of the strategic alliance MOU between Mapletree and ITOCHU, which was first signed in October 2005 to collaborate primarily in the area of logistics real estate and extended in November 2007 through a Supplemental MOU (“SMOU”) to expand the scope of collaboration.
Mr Hiew Yoon Khong, Chief Executive Officer of Mapletree said, “We are delighted to continue our mutually successful and enriching partnership with ITOCHU. The October 2005 MOU and November 2007 SMOU facilitated Mapletree’s entry into the logistics real estate market in Japan. Through our collaboration with ITOCHU, Mapletree has been able to establish our footprint in the logistics real estate market in Japan with the acquisition of seven logistics assets in Japan worth a total of S$571 million. ITOCHU is also now an investor in our Mapletree Industrial Trust (“MIT”) which holds the S$1.7 billion Industrial assets privatised by JTC Corporation.”
“This new JV and extension of the MOU affirm both parties’ intent to further strengthen and deepen the strategic partnership and leverage on each others’ strengths and capabilities to harness the opportunities in the real estate market in Asia, particularly where windows of opportunity exist in this economic environment. We hope to further entrench Mapletree’s presence in Japan as there is a growing demand by logistics operators for new and well built logistics and distribution facilities. Given the current economic climate, there are not many players able to fulfill the needs of these operators, hence Mapletree intends to step up and provide this solution together with our partner, Itochu. The completed assets will be offered to our logistics Real Estate Investment Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, on a right of first refusal basis to enhance and grow the distributions of the Trust. We look forward to scaling up our business further in Japan in partnership with ITOCHU and jointly developing US$300 million to US$500 million worth of properties of logistics properties over the next 24 months, “he added.
HO CHI MINH CITY – More than 300 wildlife photography enthusiasts and birdwatchers gathered at SC VivoCity in Ho Chi Minh City at the opening and prize presentation ceremony of the ‘Wild Birds and Mammals of Vietnam’ Photography Exhibition. Now in its second year running, this year’s exhibition held from 12 to 17 October focuses on the theme of endangered birds and mammal species in Vietnam, and is jointly organised by WildTour, the Vietnam Wildlife Photography Club and BirdLife International, supported by the Ho Chi Minh City Photography Association (HOPA), and sponsored by Mapletree Investments, Canon Vietnam and Lexar. ‘Wild Birds and Mammals of Vietnam’ is a culmination of a month-long, nationwide photography competition with a focus on Vietnam’s endangered species from July 2024 to early September 2024.
This year’s exhibition profiles wild birds and mammals in Vietnam. Vietnam supports some of the highest concentration of endangered species in Southeast Asia. Of note is Vietnam’s diversity of primates, among the most imperilled primate faunas in the world, and home to the charismatic Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey and the Delacour’s Langur. Similarly, Vietnam’s bird fauna is rich but threatened by habitat loss and trapping for the pet trade. ‘More than 400 images were received by our team, many of them exceptionally high-quality images of some of Asia’s rarest bird and mammal species’, observed Mr Nguyen Truong Sinh, lead organiser of the competition and chairperson of the Vietnam Wildlife Photography Club. He also chaired the judging panel with seven other experts. Dr Yong Ding Li who represents BirdLife International on the panel agreed and noted that the images received were more diverse than the inaugural competition in 2023 and reflects a rapidly growing interest in nature photography in Vietnam.
The Exhibition coincided with the World Migratory Bird Day weekend on 12 October 2024, held twice a year to celebrate the spectacular movement of birds across the globe every Spring and Autumn. Over this time, millions of migratory birds can be expected to be on their journeys across the Asian continent, moving from wetlands to wetlands along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, including here in Vietnam. Several migratory species were featured among the exhibited images, including among them the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Great Knot and Wallcreeper, the last an extremely rare visitor to northern Vietnam.
Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman, Mapletree, added: “We are pleased to witness our support for environmental awareness in Vietnam gain momentum, starting from our first migratory bird event in 2023 at the wetlands of Can Gio. This commitment is influenced by Mapletree’s environment and education pillars, two of the four pillars under our Corporate Social Responsibility framework to enrich communities in markets where we operate.”
“It was great to see the high quality of submissions received from not just photographers in south Vietnam, but also from further away in Ha Noi and Da Nang. I was particularly impressed with the fantastic selection of Vietnam’s endemic and wild birds documented in these photographs. The selection of mammals was equally impressive, with some of the best shots of the rare Cat Ba Langur. Eventually our committee of judges agreed that the Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey image by Mr Chung Van Thanh was the best of the lot”, observed Mr Nguyen Hoai Bao, director of WildTour and chairperson of the judging panel with five other experts.
This year’s exhibition is the fourth World Migratory Bird Day event supported by Mapletree since 2023, starting from the ‘Celebrating Migratory Birds in Vietnam’ activity organised in Can Gio wetlands by WildTour and BirdLife. In 2024, Mapletree supported the first ever Vietnam Bird Race, held at Tràm Chim National Park. The organisers and supporters of this event plan to build on the success of this year’s event and introduce new elements to attract more bird and nature enthusiasts from across Vietnam. The Vietnam Bird Race will take place annually and the next iteration is slated to be held in May 2025.
Figure 1. Chung Van Thanh’s portrait of a Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey, among Southeast Asia’s rarest mammals, won the first prize.
Figure 1. Chung Van Thanh’s portrait of a Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey, among Southeast Asia’s rarest mammals, won the first prize.
Figure 1. Chung Van Thanh’s portrait of a Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey, among Southeast Asia’s rarest mammals, won the first prize.
Figure 1. Chung Van Thanh’s portrait of a Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey, among Southeast Asia’s rarest mammals, won the first prize.
Figure 1. Chung Van Thanh’s portrait of a Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey, among Southeast Asia’s rarest mammals, won the first prize.
Headquartered in Singapore, Mapletree is a global real estate development, investment, capital and property management company committed to sustainability. Its strategic focus is to invest in markets and real estate sectors with good growth potential. By combining its key strengths, the Group has established a track record of award-winning projects, and delivers consistently attractive returns across real estate asset classes.
The Group manages three Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and nine private equity real estate funds, which hold a diverse portfolio of assets in Asia Pacific, Europe, the United Kingdom (“UK”) and the United States (“US”). As at 31 March 2024, Mapletree owns and manages S$77.5 billion of office, retail, logistics, industrial, data centre, residential and student accommodation properties.
The Group’s assets are located across 13 markets globally, namely Singapore, Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, the UK, the US and Vietnam. To support its global operations, Mapletree has established an extensive network of offices in these countries.
BirdLife International is a partnership of over 122 conservation organisations worldwide covering all continents, landscapes, and seascapes. As a leader in bird conservation, our unique local to global approach enables us to deliver high impact and long-term conservation for the benefit of nature and people. Our mission is to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, while working with people toward sustainability in the use of natural resources. Find out more at www.BirdLife.org
