Cromwell European Reit opens unchanged at trading debut

CROMWELL European Reit (CEReit) opened flat on Thursday at 0.55 euro when its units commenced trading on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) at 2pm.

About 12.97 million shares worth 7.13 million euros (S$11.4 million) had changed hands at 2.55pm.

The Reit's manager had offered 428.5 million units at 0.55 euro per unit to raise total proceeds of 866 million euros. Its initial public offering portfolio consists of 74 properties in or close to major gateway cities in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, as well as the Netherlands, with a focus on the office and light industrial/logistics sectors.

Philip Levinson, chief executive of Cromwell EReit Management, said: "CEReit aims to provide our investors with access to improving European markets, as well as a geographically diverse and scalable portfolio of commercial and industrial properties."

Chew Sutat, head of equities and fixed income for the SGX, said: "We are pleased to welcome CEReit, the first euro-denominated listing and first Reit with a diversified Pan-European portfolio to be listed on the SGX. This first-of-its-kind listing in Asia adds to the vibrancy of SGX's Reit cluster and offers investors an opportunity to invest in Europe's real estate sector."

The listing of CEReit will bring the total number of SGX-listed Reits and property trusts to 43, with a combined market capitalisation of about S$88 billion.