The rumours of this potential merger picked up last November, and from the perspective of Adrian Loh of UOB Kay Hian, "there's no smoke without fire".
CapitaLand Investment CEO Lee Chee Koon has downplayed rumours that he will be merging with another major local property player Mapletree Investments, privately held by Temasek, the common controlling shareholder.
Lee, speaking at CLI's results briefing on Feb 11, maintains that yes he is eager to grow and that he sees organic growth lifting CLI's AUM to $160 billion - some way to go before he reaches the long-stated $200 billion by 2028 target, and Mapletree's $80 billlion will help meet that number right away. However, he is careful when it comes to M&As. "We are not deal junkies," says Lee.
