Ayala sells stake in Singapore mall firm

Ayala Corp., the country's oldest conglomerate, on Thursday said its unit Ayala International Holdings Ltd. has sold its 23.3 percent stake in mall operator Hermill Investments Pte Ltd. for Singaporean $47 million. Hermill controls and operates the The Forum Shopping Mall, a 17-storey retail and office development along Singapore's Orchard Road. Ayala International sold the Hermill stake to Hotel Properties Ltd., a Singaporean Hotel operator listed on the Singaporean Stock Exchange. Before the deal, Hotel Properties owned 59 percent of Hermill. "This move allows Ayala International, the international arm of the Ayala group, to realize values and recycle capital to other investment opportunities going forward," Ayala Corp. Chief Finance Officer Rufino Luis Manotok said in a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange. Ayala International Holdings is 100 percent owned by Ayala International Pte Ltd., which is in turn wholly-owned by the Ayala Corp. - Patricia de Leon, GMANews.TV