Sumitomo : Purchases Iconic Miami Tower in the U.S.

Sumitomo Corporation (head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura), through Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (head office: New York, NY, U.S.A.; Director and President: Toshikazu Nambu), has purchased Miami Tower, a landmark building in Miami, Florida.

iconic Miami Tower, located in the city's Downtown area, consists of 37 stories of office space sitting above 10 stories of parking, a Metromover station and ground-level retail facility. The building was designed by I. M. Pei, the world-renowned architect.

Miami Tower represents Sumitomo Corporation's second investment project in the region's real estate market, after the purchase of the Miami Center in 2008. It is an office building with a similar size (34 floors above ground with a total of 72,745 m2 rentable space) and situated in the same district. We engaged in operating the property until we sold it in 2012.

Miami is a major metropolitan city in the southeastern United States, with a population reaching 6 million, boasting eighth place in the national ranking. As a traffic network hub connecting South and Central America, Europe and North America, the city has developed into the region's international business center for a range of sectors from finance, international trade, transportation, commerce, and tourism, to healthcare. One key function supporting the area's business is Miami Airport, one of the U.S.'s principal air transport hubs, which ranks first in terms of international cargo handling and second in international passenger flight services in the U.S.

Downtown Miami, favorably located around 20 minutes' drive from Miami Airport, is home to many government and private organizations, including international financial institutions, law and accounting firms, and state and federal agencies. Within the district, Miami Tower is surrounded by a host of prestigious restaurants and hotels. In addition, the amenity value of the property's neighborhood has recently been boosted through the new development of urban condominiums and rental residences, as well as large-scale shopping malls and multiplexes, which particularly attract young office workers seeking to live close to work to better enjoy a rich urban lifestyle.

Sumitomo Corporation has been engaged in the office property trading and operating business in the U.S. for over 33 years, since 1982, when we first entered the local market by acquiring an office building based in New York's Manhattan district. Starting from the country's largest metropolis, we have expanded our office investment activities to other major U.S. cities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Miami and Phoenix. Our current portfolio includes properties in San Diego and Chicago, and Miami Tower is the newest building to be added.