Elite Commercial Reit unit applies for TISE listing

MAINBOARD-LISTED Elite Commercial Reit has applied for its wholly-owned unit, Elite UK Commercial Holdings Limited (ECHL), to be listed on The International Stock Exchange (TISE) as a UK Reit by the third quarter.

Post-listing, Elite Commercial Reit will continue to hold 100 per cent of the shares in ECHL, said the manager in a regulatory filing on Friday.

It further said that the proposed listing puts the tax treatment of Elite Commercial Reit on par with that of other UK Reits.

Following the admission of ECHL on TISE - and according to the double taxation treaty between the UK and Singapore - it is expected that the principal tax rate applicable to Elite Commercial Reit will be reduced to 15 per cent from the current 19 per cent.

Further, any latent capital gains - and its corresponding deferred tax liabilities - of properties currently held by Elite Commercial Reit will be eliminated, said its manager.

While the listing of ECHL on TISE is expected to be completed by the third quarter, there is "no assurance" that it will be successfully completed, it added.

Prior to ECHL's listing, the income and gains of Elite Commercial Reit's subsidiaries in UK would continue to be subjected to the prevailing UK corporation tax.

Elite Commercial Reit, which debuted on the Singapore Exchange mainboard last February, is the first Reit denominated in the British pound to be listed here.

Its units closed unchanged at 66.5 Singapore cents on Friday.