American Kimcos partner REP invests US$ 260.7 million
Valor Econômico - 06/23/2008
REP - Commercial Centers, a shopping mall company acquired by the Lindencorp real estate group last year, announced the implementation of 12 undertakings that should consume investments of R$ 425 million (US$ 260.7 million) in the next years. Part of the resources will be disbursed by the American group Kimco, one of the US largest groups in the shopping mall sector, from which REP is a partner in a joint venture since last year, with 30% of participation. When the partnership was established, the American group plans were to invest US$ 150 million in Brazil. But REP director, Marcos Saad, assesses that the sum invested by the company in Brazil may be bigger in the future. Among the undertakings announced by REP, six are already having their spaces sold, but six other are still in the stage of development. The already launched projects include three neighborhood commercial centers, referred to as "strip centers" in the USA. One of them will be built in Jundiaí and the other two in São Paulo city. The company will also build two new shopping malls, one at Largo Treze, a popular neighborhood of São Paulo, and one in the municipality of Hortolândia (SP), and will expand the mall of the municipality of Valinhos, which already belongs to REP. The future projects in process include the construction of three shopping malls located in Mogi Guacú (SP), Campinas (SP) and Cabo Frio (RJ). The company will also build a "power center" in Itaquera (SP), a format that gathers mega stores, such as hypermarkets and construction material stores in the same in space. Besides, REP announced the construction of two "multipurpose" undertakings, a model that gathers different businesses, such as hotels, shopping malls, residential and commercial condominiums. An undertaking will be located in Guarulhos (SP) and another one in Ribeirão Preto (SP), the greatest sugar and alcohol center of the country. Multiplan and Iguatemi, which are among the largest national groups in shopping malls, have already announced projects in Ribeirão Preto, a region favored by heavy investments in the alcohol sector, and with a high per capita income. The investments announced placed REP at another level in the shopping mall sector. The company had only the mall of Valinhos (SP).