Yahoo Finance Singapore developer’s REIT IPO includes HSBC London Tower
By Elffie Chew and Ishika Mookerjee
(Bloomberg) — Singapore’s City Developments Ltd. has included the London building housing HSBC Holdings Plc’s headquarters in a property trust offering in partnership with Qatar Investment Authority, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The homebuilder has filed applications for an initial public offering of a real estate investment trust with commercial assets in the UK to the Singapore Exchange and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the company said in a statement Friday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.
City Developments seeks to raise about 500 million pounds (US$705 million) from the REIT’s potential first-time share sale, which could take place as soon as the third quarter, said the people. The REIT will have a portfolio size of about 1.8 billion pounds, the people said, asking not to be named as the process is private.
Deliberations are ongoing and there is no certainty that a deal will proceed, said the people. A representative for CDL declined to comment. A representative for QIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At 500 million pounds, the IPO would surpass the US$224 million raised by Aztech Global Ltd., the larger of just two listings in Singapore so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Other companies that are exploring local IPOs include Pathology Asia Holdings Pte, a TPG-backed firm whose listing could raise as much as S$800 million (US$602 million), and Sunseap Group Pte, a Singapore renewable energy firm, which could seek up to S$600 million in an offering.
The REIT IPO would be the second sterling-denominated first-time share sale in Singapore, after Elite Commercial REIT’s offering raised about 135 million pounds last year. As part of City Developments’ plan to boost the REIT’s portfolio, the firm reached out to QIA to inject the building in London’s Canary Wharf financial district housing HSBC’s global headquarters into the offering, Bloomberg News reported last month.
City Developments has constructed more than 46,000 homes and owns over 24 million square feet of properties in 29 countries and regions, according to its website. Its portfolio includes residences, offices, hotels and shopping malls.
QIA manages about US$300 billion of assets and ranks as the world’s 11th-largest wealth fund, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. It bought 8 Canada Square, HSBC’s head office in London, in 2014 from South Korea’s National Pension Service for an undisclosed amount.
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