Frasers Property is a Singaporean multinational real estate and property management company that develops, owns, and manages properties across the globe. It owns and manages properties in the commercial, residential, hospitality, retail, and industrial and logistics sectors. Headquartered in Singapore, it trades on the main board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST). It also sponsors real estate investment trusts (REITs), including one stapled trust, two of which are also listed on the SGX-ST.
History
1963–1996: Foundation, establishment of The Centrepoint, IPO, and acquisition by Fraser and Neave
The company that would later be known as Frasers Property was incorporated in 1963 as Cold Storage Limited, a market and retail chain. The first property it developed was a shopping centre known as The Centrepoint located on Singapore's Orchard Road. Construction on that development started in 1980 and was completed in 1983. In the early 1980s, the firm began divesting its non-property assets. In 1987, Fraser and Neave and Goodman Fielder Wattie took control of Cold Storage Holdings, the holding group for Cold Storage's food manufacturing, retail, and property arms. In 1988, the property arm of Cold Storage became Centrepoint Properties Limited (CPL) and also started trading on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). In 1990, CPL became a member of Fraser and Neave after restructuring. At the time of the acquisition, CPL's sole function was as the owner and operator of The Centrepoint mall, and its executive director was G.H. Darwin.
In the following years, the company added to its portfolio, opening another shopping complex, Northpoint, in Singapore and acquiring a Sydney, Australia-based shopping mall, Bridgepoint. In 1994, CPL opened and began managing its first residential project with The Anchorage, a condominium complex at the location of a former Anchor Brewery in Singapore. In 1996, it broke ground on its first commercial project in Vietnam called, Me Linh Point, in Ho Chi Minh City. The 21-storey retail and commercial tower was completed in 1999.
In 1996, G.H. Darwin retired as executive director and was replaced by Jeffrey Heng, who assumed the role of CEO. Under Heng, Centrepoint expanded into hospitality with the hotel brands, Fraser Place and Fraser Suites. In 1998, Fraser Suites Singapore and Fraser Place Robertson Walk were the first of F&N's serviced residence properties. The company subsequently opened locations in the UK, South Korea, and the Philippines. The company also ventured into the United Kingdom for the first time in 2000 with the Annandale House residential development. Its first development in China came with the JingAn Four Seasons in Shanghai in 2001.
1996–2013: Further expansion, delisting from SGX, and establishment of REITs
In 2002, Centrepoint Properties became a wholly owned subsidiary of Fraser and Neave, which privatized it by delisting it from the SGX. Lim Ee Seng was named CEO of Centrepoint Properties in 2004. Two years later, the company was rebranded as Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL). It also developed its first Real estate investment trust (REIT) with Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT). The FCT launched with a listing on the main board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST). In 2008, Fraser and Neave acquired a 17.7% stake in the Allco Commercial REIT. It was later rebranded as the Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) and placed under the structure of FCL. Between 2005 and 2014, FCL's assets increased from just over $5 billion to $16.89 billion (SGD).
In 2013, FCL's parent company, Fraser and Neave, was acquired by Thai Chinese billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's TCC Group for $11 billion. In August of that year, it was announced that Fraser and Neave would spin off FCL as its own separate listing on the Singapore Exchange through an in specie distribution of stock, effectively making the property group an independent entity under the broader TCC Group umbrella.
2014–2017: Acquisition by TCC Group, relisting on SGX, and expansion into Australia and Europe