Southeast Asia´s largest developer, CapitaLand, announced that it was seeking to raise S$1.84 billion in a rights issue but made it clear that it was “raising capital from a position of financial and business strength”.

“The Rights Issue is pre-emptive to strategically enhance the Group’s financial flexibility. A strong balance sheet will further differentiate CapitaLand vis-à-vis our competitors,” Liew Mun Leong, president and CEO of CapitaLand Group said in a statement.

CapitaLand, reported an 88.4 percent drop in its fourth quarter net profit as it experienced lower sales revenue in China and Australia.

It reported net profit of S$78.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to $674.7 million in the same period last year.

For the financial year of 2008, the firm reported a net profit of $1.26 billion down 54.3 percent from  the $2.76 billion it earned in the financial year of 2007.

source : www.property-report.com