CapitaLand Commercial C-Reit’s public offer in China IPO is 535 times subscribed
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The Reit’s initial portfolio comprises CapitaMall SKY+ in Guangzhou (above) and CapitaMall Yuhuating in Changsha.
PHOTO: CAPITALAND INVESTMENT
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – CapitaLand Investment (CLI) on Sept 12 announced that the public tranche of CapitaLand Commercial C-Reit’s (CLCR) Shanghai initial public offering (IPO) closed ahead of schedule and was 535.2 times subscribed.
As for the book-building tranche, CLCR achieved a subscription coverage of 254.5 times from offline institutional investors, said CLI, the sponsor and asset manager of CLCR. This marked a record high among retail China real estate investment trusts (C-Reits) in the country, CLI added.
With this, CLCR has raised 2.29 billion yuan (S$409 million) from its IPO, having issued 400 million IPO units at a price of 5.718 yuan per unit.
As joint strategic investors of CLCR, CLI, CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) and CapitaLand Development will collectively hold 20 per cent of its IPO units. CLCT, a China-focused Singapore Reit (S-Reit), previously said it would subscribe to 5 per cent of the IPO units.
Excluding this collective stake, the majority of the remaining units were snapped up by insurance companies, strategic capital investors and securities firms, said CLI.
Cornerstone investors took up 40.11 per cent of the units, while offline institutional investors were allotted 27.92 per cent in the book-building tranche, the asset manager said. The remaining 11.97 per cent was subscribed by retail and institutional investors in the public tranche.
CLCR is expected to commence trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange under ticker code 508091 by end-September 2025.
Noting that CLCR is CLI’s eighth listed fund, the asset manager said the China Reit will expand its Reit management platform into the country and strengthen its position as Asia-Pacific’s largest Reit manager by market capitalisation.
CLCR will complement CLCT, which is CLI’s Singapore-listed fund for international investors looking to invest in China, the asset manager added.
This dual-platform approach provides both domestic and international investors with access to quality assets in China, CLI said.
“The listing of CLCR is part of CLI’s capital recycling strategy to enhance its balance sheet and redeploy capital in strategic opportunities across China. It also aligns with CLI’s domestic fund strategy to tap onshore capital and grow its funds under management and recurring fee income,” CLI said.
CLCR’s initial portfolio focuses on high-quality income-producing retail assets in top-tier cities and comprises two malls with a combined value of around 2.6 billion yuan.
The malls are CapitaMall SKY+ in Guangzhou, located in the city’s Baiyun Central Business District, and CapitaMall Yuhuating in Changsha, in the city’s Yuhua District.
They have a total gross floor area of 168,405 sq m. Their overall occupancy rate stood at 96 per cent as at March 31.
CLI will continue to operate CapitaMall SKY+ and CapitaMall Yuhuating after CLCR’s listing.
CLI unveiled its plans to launch its first C-Reit in April.
This would allow CLCT to enter the expanding C-Reit market, Mr Gerry Chan, chief executive of CLCT’s manager, said at the time.
A C-Reit would provide a platform to unlock value from CLCT’s mature assets to improve financial flexibility, allow it to pursue income diversification and enhance its portfolio quality, Mr Chan said then.
He also pointed out that China’s domestic capital market and investor base were “largely untapped by global Reit players”.
To the question of whether there would be overlaps between CLCT and CLCR, Mr Chan said the C-Reit would focus on income-producing retail assets. Meanwhile, the China-focused S-Reit would be a diversified asset-class Reit anchored by a broad portfolio with retail, business park and logistics park properties.
Another difference is that CLCT’s investment mandate spans the Greater China region, which includes Hong Kong and Macau, while CLCR focuses solely on mainland China, Mr Chan said then.
CLI shares closed one cent, or 0.4 per cent, higher at $2.78 on Sept 12, while shares of CLCT rose one cent, or 1.3 per cent, to 80 cents. THE BUSINESS TIMES
