Singapore’s moribund IPO market looks to Reits for a lifeline

SINGAPORE’S stagnant initial public offering (IPO) market is relying on a boost next year from real estate investment trusts (Reits).

Japan’s Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) is considering a data-centre Reit listing that could be worth as much as US$1 billion, and bankers are optimistic other Reit managers will follow, in part because of the recent rally in the sector. An index for Singapore-based real estate trusts has risen 14 per cent during the third quarter, coming close to wiping out losses from earlier in the year, as a global decline in interest rates makes the sector more attractive to investors.

“We are constructive on the equity capital markets in Singapore for the fourth quarter and onwards,” said Mrinal Parekh, head of equity capital markets for South-east Asia and India at BNP Paribas. He said investors have already started asking questions about Reits.

Issuance from Reits would be a much-needed shot in the arm for Singapore’s stock exchange, which is set for its worst year for IPOs in more than a quarter century. Just one company has raised money from an IPO on the exchange this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Insiders are worried about the chances of a revival.

Lower rates will be a double boost for the sector, cheapening Reits’ own borrowing costs while making the dividends they pay more attractive to investors. That could create a virtuous cycle for new listings.

“There could be more fundraising activities and more investor interest in Reits, which creates a better environment for IPOs,” said Ken Foong, an analyst covering real estate at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Data centres are among the bright spots for Reits thanks to the boom in artificial intelligence, Foong said. Tenants in such Reits are more likely to keep their leases than other companies because of the high cost of relocating to other data centres, he added.

NTT’s potential US$1 billion listing would be the biggest in the city-state since Netlink NBN Trust’s IPO raised US$1.7 billion in 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, a Reit that owns retail and office properties, raised about S$1.1 billion in September to buy a 50 per cent interest in a Singapore high-end mall from the property company that backs the Reit. BLOOMBERG