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BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

Ascendas plans $458m IT park in Hangzhou

By Zheng Lifei (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-06 10:05

Ascendas, one of Asia's largest developers of business properties, said
yesterday it has clinched a deal with a local partner to develop a $458
million IT park in Hangzhou, which will be its single largest investment
in China.

Ascendas will develop the IT park with Hangzhou Economic Development Area
General North Co, the developer of the Hangzhou Economic Development Area
(HEDA), where the park will be located.

The Singaporean real estate developer will own 80 percent of the
Singapore-Hangzhou Science and Technology Park, according to an agreement
signed between two sides.

The park, which will cover about 43 hectares and have some 752,250 square
meters of developed property when completely built, will position itself
as a hub for service industries including business process outsourcing
(BPO) and information technology outsourcing, as well as for research and
development activities.

The Hangzhou facility will be the fourth IT park and the largest in terms
of investment that Ascendas has developed in the country, according to
Tay Eng Kiat, Ascendas China CEO.

Its other projects are in Xi'an, Dalian and Nanjing, all of which are
major BPO bases in China.

Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, is one of the 11
cities designated by the Ministry of Commerce as BPO hubs in the country.

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"We will bring to Hangzhou our successful IT park experience from India,
where we have helped to propel the growth of Bangalore as the cradle of
India's BPO industry," said Chong Siak Ching, president and CEO of
Ascendas.

Ascendas now has seven IT parks in five Indian cities, Chong said, where
a total of more than 40,000 IT professionals work.

The company is planning to triple the investment it has made in China
since 1995 over the next five years to a total of $1.64 billion, Chong
told China Daily earlier this year.

The developer, which has assets worth $3.3 billion under its management,
now has a presence in 10 cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and
Suzhou.

HEDA, approved by the State Council and established in 1993, is one of 11
national-level software parks in China.

Hangzhou Economic Development Area General North Co, with registered
capital of 160 million yuan, mainly focuses on infrastructure
construction and management at HEDA.

Its subsidiary Hangxin Investment Co Ltd is responsible for the initial
development of the first phase of the park.

Ascendas will manage the Hangzhou park over a range of responsibilities,
including project management, marketing, leasing, advertising and
corporate services.

When completed, the park will be able to house a working population of
30,000 to 50,000 people.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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