Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust, a property trust partly owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka- shing, agreed to spend $1.5 billion to buy a stake in a project in Singapore’s downtown.

Suntec agreed to buy a one-third stake in BFC Development, which owns Marina Bay Financial Centre Towers 1 and 2 and the Marina Bay Link, from a company owned by Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchinson Whampoa, Suntec said in an e-mailed statement today.

The acquisition will allow Suntec to be “well positioned” to capture growth opportunities from the development of the Marina Bay area, the trust said. The deal comes after Keppel Land, the Singapore-based developer controlled by Keppel Corp., earlier this month sold its stake in the first phase of a Marina Bay Financial Center project as part of a swap agreement.

 

With this deal, Suntec’s office portfolio will increase to 2.4 million square feet from 1.9 million square feet, according to the statement.

 

Keppel agreed to sell its stake in the project for $1.43 billion. Cheung Kong and Hutchison are both controlled by Li.