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CREO announces call option in RREEF in China Commercial Trust

China Real Estate Opportunities Limited (“CREO” or the “Company”), an AIM listed property company with an established investment and development portfolio in China today announced that it had entered into a call option agreement to acquire a 25.65% stake or 119,043,500 units in RREEF China Commercial Trust (“RREEF CCT”), a Hong Kong-listed Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”), to be exercised on 12 January 2009 at a cost of HKD 387 million (£33.6 million).

RREEF CCT listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 22 June 2007 and currently owns an international grade A office and retail complex in the Chaoyang District of Beijing.  The property, Beijing Gateway Plaza, is a strongly performing commercial real estate asset of approximately 130,000 square metres, with occupancy of over 95%, and is entirely consistent with CREO’s long-term investment and operating philosophy. 

RREEF CCT is managed by RREEF China Reit Management Limited, which is owned by RREEF Alternative Investments through Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific.  
As at June 2008, RREEF CCT had a net asset value (NAV) of HKD6.04 per share, whilst the individual asset had a gross property value of HKD8.56 per share (HKD3.99 billion, £347.0 million). An interim dividend of HKD18.63 cents per share was paid in June 2008.  Based on the share price of HKD1.880 on 20 November 2008, RREEF CCT had a market capitalisation of HKD873 million (£75.9 million).

CREO has secured the call option at HKD3.25 per share representing a 46% discount to NAV and 62% discount to gross property value. Based on the interim dividend outlined in the June 2008 interim accounts the exercise price of the call option of HKD3.25 equates to a dividend yield of 11.5% per annum. 

Mr. Ray Horney, Chairman of China Real Estate Opportunities Limited said, “This transaction reinforces CREO’s ongoing commitment to its core business and exhibits its capacity to identify strategic investments that maintain its position as one of the leading foreign investors in China’s commercial real estate market and that are accretive to its existing investments“.