Singapore REITs Are on a Record Fundraising Spree

Julia Cristina Silvi Fioretti

18 Oct 2019, 12:45 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore real estate investment trusts are back for more cash, pushing secondary share sales to record levels.

Keppel Pacific Oak U.S. REIT launched a private placement of up to $75.6 million on Thursday, a day after Mapletree Commercial Trust raised S$918.5 million ($671.4m) through a private placement and a preferential offering.

REITs are proving popular among yield-hungry investors in Asia as central-bank easing has sent interest rates to rock bottom across the globe. The Bloomberg Asia Real Estate Investment Trust Index has rallied 23% this year, making it an opportune moment for the sector to issue new equity.

Surging investor demand has propelled fund-raising activity by Singapore REITs to levels never seen before. Their additional share sales have fetched $2.3 billion this year, the most since at least 1999, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Earlier this month, Lendlease Global Commercial REIT staged a successful debut in Singapore, surging 6.3% at the open from its offer price, the biggest jump among the city-state’s REITs in the past six years. Investors piled in, putting in orders for more than 9.8 times the shares on offer. Meanwhile, Mapletree Commercial Trust said its private placement was approximately 7 times covered, highlighting the strong demand.

The REIT sector was the top institutional net buy for the first eight months of the year, drawing inflows of S$211 million, Singapore Exchange Ltd.’s CEO Loh Boon Chye said at a speech during the Lendlease IPO ceremony.

The performance of follow-on offerings by Singapore REITs has been strong too, with just one of this year’s deals -- CapitaLand Commercial Trust -- trading below its offer price. The deals this year have returned 9.2% on average, with initial public offerings raising $1.59 billion, a six-year high, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

UPCOMING LISTINGS:

Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank
- Size $1.5b
- Shanghai stock exchange
- Taking orders next week; listing date TBA
- CICC, China Sec.
Ascentage Pharma Group International
- Hong Kong stock exchange
- Size up to $53m
- Pricing Oct. 21, trading Oct. 28
- BAML, Citi
JS Global Lifestyle Co.
- Hong Kong stock exchange
- Size $500m
- Premarketing Oct. 2-11
- Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, ICBC International
Bangkok Commercial Asset Management
- Thailand stock exchange
- Size at least $700m
- Meeting overseas investors this week
Lotte REIT
- Korea stock exchange
- Size $353m
- Listing date Oct. 30
- HSBC, Korea Investment & Securities, Nomura
Home Credit
- Hong Kong stock exchange
- Consumer finance unit of Czech billionaire Petr Kellner’s PPF Group
- Premarketing started Sept.
- Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley
China Feihe
- Hong Kong stock exchange
- Size about $1b
- Premarketing as soon as this week
- JPMorgan, CMS, CCB International
ESR Cayman Ltd.
- Hong Kong stock exchange
- Premarketing this week
- Deutsche Bank, CLSA

More ECM situations we are following:

Blackstone Group and Indian developer K Raheja Group have selected more banks for an IPO of their joint commercial property portfolio, according to people familiar with the matter.
China International Capital Corporation will raise HK$2.53 billion in a placement of 176 million H shares.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved registrations for the listings of seven new companies on the Star Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the most since the new board’s debut in July.
S Hotels and Resorts Co. seeks to raise as much as $260 million in a Thai IPO.
CMGE Technology Group Ltd. aims to raise as much as $166 million in a Hong Kong IPO.