MAPLETREE Investments, the property unit of Singapore's Temasek Holdings, is poised to list a real estate investment trust (Reit) in Singapore that could hold up to S$4 billion in assets, a top executive said.
CEO Hiew Yoon Khong said yesterday the listing of the Reit would take place when stock-market conditions improved.
'The management team is ready, and the filing process is really a two-month job,' Mr Hiew told Reuters in an interview. 'We were actually preparing for the IPO 16 to 18 months ago but the market turned.'
He said Mapletree planned to launch a Vietnam property fund and an Asian industrial property fund in the next 12 months and hopes to raise between US$500 million and US$1 billion for each.
Mr Hiew, who is also senior managing director (special projects) at Temasek, said Mapletree's strategy going forward is to become 'a real estate capital management type of business', managing listed and unlisted funds for outside investors. He said over the next three to five years, Mapletree hoped to grow its property assets to at least S$20 billion.
Mapletree currently owns or manages nearly S$12 billion in real estate assets in several Asian countries, including China, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Its listed property funds include Lippo-Mapletree Indonesia Retail Trust, which owns malls in Indonesia, and Mapletree Logistics Trust, which invests in warehouses and distribution centres across Asia.
Mr Hiew said the proposed Mapletree Commercial Trust that the firm will list in Singapore would comprise VivoCity, Singapore's largest mall, as well as nearby properties to the west of the central business district.
These include PSA Building, which houses the country's port operator, and St James Power Station, a popular nightspot.
Mapletree will likely launch the initial public offering when yields on Reits fall closer to 5 per cent - which is around the historical level - from around 8 per cent currently, he said.
Turning to the property funds in Mapletree's pipeline, Mr Hiew said the Vietnam fund would invest mostly in office, retail and residential properties.
The industrial fund would likely be pan-Asian, although Mapletree may organise it into sub-funds that focused on investments in Japan, China and other parts of the region.
Mr Hiew said he was confident Mapletree's various property funds would achieve their target returns, which range from 12 per cent for a Singapore industrial fund to 18-22 per cent for the India-China fund. 'It's still in the early stage but so far on track. There's nothing in the numbers to make us panic.' - Reuters
Source: Business Times, 12 Sep 2009
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