Is a public float off the table?

IT IS no sheer coincidence that Mapletree Investments has all the ingredients of a listed company, given that a public listing was an original plan. But that plan has been placed on the back-burner.

Though reports surfaced back in 2008 that an initial public offering for Mapletree Investments could take place, the long-awaited event that would offer investors exposure to Mapletree's real estate capital management franchise so far has not taken place. Chances of this IPO plan being revisited now look slimmer than before.

"We were supposed to prepare ourselves for listing, so the annual report and the many processes that we run is actually very much in compliance with the listing standards," Mr Hiew says. "But along the way, between us and the shareholders, we decided that we are not going for listing."