Bangkok

WHA Corp, Thailand's biggest publicly traded warehouse operator, plans to sell units in a real estate investment trust after its acquisition of the nation's biggest industrial developer last year caused debt and funding costs to surge.

WHA wants to raise at least 11 billion baht (S$436 million) by selling a Reit backed by rental fees from warehouses and factories, chief executive officer Jareeporn Jarukornsakul said in an interview on Tuesday. It also plans to sell about 30 per cent of a water and power unit, which Ms Jareeporn estimates will have a market value of at least 25 billion baht when it begins trading on the exchange in the fourth quarter.