Singapore Fortifies Status as REIT Hub With More Deals
Singapore Fortifies Status as REIT Hub With More Deals
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Foreign-currency REIT listings in Singapore are having a strong start this year despite all the hurdles posed by the outbreak of the coronavirus.
United Hampshire U.S. REIT has begun gauging investors’ demand for an initial public offering in the city-state that could raise between $300 million and $400 million. That comes just after a U.K.-focused real estate investment trust made its debut last week, adding to six foreign-currency-denominated REITs already traded in Singapore, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
| Issuer | Offer Size | Trading Currency |
|---|---|---|
| Cromwell European REIT (2017) | $688.3m | EUR |
| Prime U.S. REIT (2019) | $612m | USD |
| Eagle Hospitality Trust (2019) | $565.8m | USD |
| Manulife U.S. REIT (2016) | $480.4m | USD |
| ARA U.S. Hospitality Trust (2019) | $450.7m | USD |
| Keppel Pacific Oak U.S. REIT (2017) | $448m | USD |
Singapore has more foreign-currency REIT listings than any market in the world: Canada, London and Dubai have only two, Hong Kong just one and the U.S. none, according to data compiled by Bloomberg excluding those that delisted. The city-state’s favorable tax rate and well-tested legal system make it particularly appealing.
REITs have been particularly popular among yield-hungry investors in this low-interest rate environment, with the FTSE Straits Times Real Estate Investment Trust Index hitting a 12-year high in January. Elite Commercial REIT raised $170.5 million last week in what was Singapore’s first trust listing this year and its first British pound-denominated IPO ever. The deal saw its institutional and retail tranches oversubscribed by 3.2 times and 8.3 times, respectively, according to data from the exchange.
That hasn’t made the sector immune to market repercussions from the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, which has already killed more than 900 people and pushed Singapore to raise its disease response level to Orange, the same as during SARS. The city’s trusts with exposure to China have seen their market value shed hundreds of millions of dollars on concerns over potential business disruptions from the epidemic.
Read more: Singapore REITs Exposed to China Take $532 Million Hit
IPOs have also felt the effects of the outbreak. While work on United Hampshire U.S. REIT’s listing is going ahead, the coronavirus has caused Singapore’s second-largest taxi company, Trans-cab Services Pte., to postpone its initial share sale.
UPCOMING LISTINGS:
- Citic Capital Acquisition
- NYSE
- Size $200m
- Listing Feb. 11
- Credit Suisse
- Huize Holding
- Nasdaq
- Size $53m
- Pricing Feb. 11
- Citigroup, CICC, Tiger Brokers, Valuable Capital
- Central Retail
- Thailand stock exchange
- Size $2.5b
- Listing Feb. 20
- Bualuang Securities, Phatra Securities, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, UBS
- Lion Air
- Indonesia stock exchange
- Size over $500m
- Pre-marketing from Jan. 27-Feb. 7
- BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley
- Champ Resto Indonesia
- Indonesia stock exchange
- Size about $150m
- Pre-marketing started Jan. 31
- CLSA
- Mr D.I.Y. Group
- Bursa Malaysia
- Size up to $500m
- Pricing date TBD
- CIMB, Maybank
More ECM situations we are following:
- Singapore Press Holdings has selected advisers to help with a planned listing of a real estate investment trust backed by student housing that could raise at least $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
SEE ALSO:
- Asia ECM Weekly Agenda
- IPO data
- U.S. ECM Watch
- EU ECM Watch
- To receive the ECM Watch in your inbox daily, click the “subscribe” button at the top of this article
To contact the reporter on this story: Zhen Hao Toh in Singapore at ztoh4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, Cecile Vannucci
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.