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Asian REIT Listings Generate Strong Investor Interest

On 1 March Reuters reported that KLCC Property Holdings Bhd (PINK:KPYHF), owner of Kuala Lumpur'slandmarkPetronas Twin Towers, was planning a restructuring, including a listing ofwhat will be Malaysia's biggest real estate investment trust (REIT). The move of KLCC Property Holdings highlights agrowing trend of Asian property trust listings which in recent months hasbeen generating strong interest among investors, particularly in Japan and Singapore.

KLCC Property Holdings Planning Trust Listing

Reuters reported that the trust, which is likely to be listed in April, will be three times bigger than the next largest Malaysian real estate investment trust. The agency quoted an unnamed source as saying that KLCC Property Holdings was looking at a market value of 10 to 11 billion ringgits (2.2 billion to 2.4 billion).

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd is reported to be the principal advisor for the deal, with Citigroup Global Markets Ltd acting as international financial adviser.

As noted by Bloomberg, KLCC Property Holdings is 52.6 percent owned by
Petroliam Nasional Bhd or Petronas, Malaysia's state-owned oil and gas company.

Stapled REIT

The new listed property trust is part of KLCC Property Holding's corporate restructuring which was unveiled in November 2012. The restructuring will create a stapled REIT by bundling existing shares of KLCC Property Holdings and units of KLCC REIT and is also intended to help boost profits on account of the trust's income tax exemption.

Reuters reported that KLCC Property Holdings has assets in excess of 15 billion ringgits, including the Kuala Lumpur's 88-floor Petronas Twin Towers.In November, Bloomberg reported that the two other buildings to be included in the trust would be Menara 3 Petronas and Menara ExxonMobil towers.

Asian Trend

The upcoming listing highlights the growing trend of real estate investment trust IPOs in Asia. In February, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Mapletree Investments Pte, a real estate unit of Temasek Holdings Pte, was planning to raise .6 billion (834 million) in Singapore's largest IPO since March 2011.

The REIT market in Japan has also seen some successful IPOs, with the WSJ reporting that the country has benefitted from a recovery in commercial rental and property prices. Among the more notable recent listings was the float of Singapore's Global Logistics Properties Ltd (SGX:MC0) which in December raised .3 billion on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.