Siem Reap province

HONGKONG Land (Singapore) Pte Ltd agreed to buy the leasehold for a prime block of land in downtown Siem Reap for US$2 million from property investor JSM Indochina Ltd.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the final quarter of this year, subject to the satisfaction of conditions including approval from Cambodian authorities, according to a statement released last Wednesday.

It follows a 7 April announcement that Hongkong Land would purchase JSM’s four Phnom Penh properties for $33.65 million.

The land measures approximately 31,041 square meters, and sits next to Raffles Grand Hotel d´Angkor in the heart of Siem Reap.

“We are very pleased to be able to announce the disposal of Siem Reap to Hongkong Land …” said JSM Indochina Chairman Scott Verges in the statement.

He added the move was in accordance with company’s investing policy to return value to shareholders.

CB Richard Ellis handled the sale of JSM’s properties in Cambodia.

The Siem Reap property has been earmarked for a mixed use development including a 16,200 square metre international shopping centre, a 313-room hotel, and other tourist-related infrastructure such as a spa, restaurants and conference centre.

The project is still in the pre-development stage. JSM received Council for the Development of Cambodia investment approval in March 2009.

No construction activity has commenced on the site.

Hongkong Land is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group of companies.

On April 7, the firm announced it would acquire four of JSM’s Phnom Penh properties – the Embassy Centre property near Wat Phnom, the two Colonial Mansion properties, and the JSM Ounalom property near the riverside.

Hongkong Land said it expected to have the four Phnom Penh purchases wrapped up in six months.

National Valuers’ Association of Cambodia President Sung Bonna had previously said the sale of the JSM properties represented the first large post-crisis real estate transaction.