Developers with assets in the Marina Bay, Rochor and Tanjong Pagar areas like Keppel Land and UOL Group should capture investor interest as more details about the Singapore-Malaysia historical land swap agreement emerge, says Nomura Singapore in a residential property report dated Sept 21.

On Sept 20, Singapore and Malaysia finalised an agreement to swap six land parcels in Singapore’s Marina Bay and Rochor districts for six sites in Singapore that are currently occupied by the KTM railway link between Singapore and Malaysia. The land parcels in Marina Bay and Rochor will be jointly developed by Malaysia and Singapore in a 60:40 JV.

Among the developers under Nomura’s coverage, the research house says UOL appears to offer comprehensive exposure to the Rochor/Tanjong Pagar rejuvenation theme. Its Spottiswoode Park residential project, which is behind the existing Tanjong Pagar railway station, is expected to be launched soon.

“Over the longer term, we believe discounts in the values of The Plaza and The Gateway, currently booked at a 33% discount to Suntec City Office, are likely to narrow along with the Rochor makeover,” writes Sai Min Chow of Nomura.

“While UOL has outperformed the broader market since 6 September, the stock continues to trade at a 38% discount to NAV. The pro-rata book value of The Plaza and The Gateway represent 8.7% of UOL’s current EV. Geared to the Rochor/Tanjong Pagar rejuvenation theme, news flow surrounding the joint developments should continue to attract investor attention to the stock and provide catalysts for the discount to NAV to narrow, in our view.”