AIP, Tokyu Land plan Singapore Reit IPO for Australian properties

Tokyo

SOUTH Korea's AIP Asset Management and Tokyu Land Corp are planning a real estate investment trust listing in Singapore backed by Australian commercial properties as soon as this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The companies are working with advisers on the planned initial public offering, which could raise about S$400 million, They will reach out to potential cornerstone investors as early as next week, said the sources.

Any deal would add to the US$4.1 billion of property trust IPOs in Singapore over the last three years, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

So far this year, the city-state has hosted two Reit listings - United Hampshire US Reit and Elite Commercial Reit - that raised a combined US$487 million.

Deliberations by AIP and Japan's Tokyu Land are ongoing and details of the offering including the size and timing could change, said the sources.

A representative for AIP declined to comment, while a representative for Tokyu Land said nothing has been decided.

AIP has about US$4.1 billion of assets under management with nearly 70 per cent of them in Europe, according to its website. Among the Australian assets it owns are the Australian Red Cross headquarters in Sydney, the Australian Taxation Office in Albury and the Louisa Lawson Building in Canberra.

Tokyu Land has two listed Reits including Activia Properties, which is backed by shopping malls and office buildings in Tokyo, its website showed. BLOOMBERG