SINGAPORE |
SINGAPORE Feb 13 (Reuters) – Singapore-listed
property developer Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd said it
agreed to acquire a 70 percent economic interest in Star City, a
residential and commercial development on the outskirts of
Myanmar’s Yangon, for S$91 million ($72.2 million).
Yoma will finance the acquisition through a rights issue of
up to 422.12 million shares at S$0.24 each, on the basis of four
rights shares for every five existing ordinary shares in the
company, it said in a statement.
“The acquisition of Star City represents a significant boost
to our real estate business and should give us a strong pipeline
for next 6-8 years while we develop other businesses under the
group in Myanmar,” said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Rickards.
Yoma also said it swung to a net profit of S$1.4 million for
the three months to December versus a net loss of S$0.5 million
a year ago, mainly due to a significant increase in the sales of
housing and land development rights in Myanmar.
The company said about 75 percent of its net assets and 100
percent of its revenue were from Myanmar. On Monday, Yoma’s
shares were up 7.6 percent at S$0.42 and have doubled so far
this year.
Yoma is betting on a middle class developing in Myanmar as
the country emerges from half a century of isolation under
military rule, and investors are taking note, Yoma CEO Andrew
Rickards told Reuters last month.
($1 = 1.2599 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Anshuman Daga)