SINGAPORE - CapitaLand Investment (CLI), one of the world's largest listed real estate investment managers (REIMs), is currently the third most traded stock in value following its debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Monday morning (Sept 20).

As at 1.20 pm, the counter was trading at $2.93, 3.7 per cent, or 10.7 cents above its valuation of $2.823, with about 13.6 million shares changing hands.

For every 100 CapitaLand shares owned, shareholders received 100 shares of CLI, $95.10 in cash and 15.5 units of CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust. The total implied consideration was $4.102 per share, with CLI shares valued at $2.823 each.

With CapitaLandInvest as its trading name, the stock hit a high of $3.02 on Monday morning. CLI takes over from CapitaLand Limited, which suspended trading on Sept 9 at $4 and will be delisted on Sept 21.

CapitaLand Investment is the third mainboard listing on SGX so far this year.

CLI's listing by introduction takes place after CapitaLand restructured its business to form two distinct entities - CLI, the listed real estate investment management business; and CapitaLand Development (CLD), the privatised property development arm.

"CLI is the first and only real estate investment manager listed in Singapore so far, so there's the novelty factor," KGI Securities investment analyst Joel Ng said.

"The fact that it is one of the most highly traded stocks in value today, is a sign of investor confidence and willingness to get exposure to REIMs here."

As a listed global REIM with a strong Asia foothold, CLI had about $119.0 billion of real estate assets under management (AUM) as at June 30, 2021, of which more than 80 per cent are located in Asia. CLI's real estate funds under management (FUM) stood at about $83 billion, held via six listed real estate investment trusts and business trusts, and over 20 private funds.

CLI chairman Miguel Ko said: "Today's listing of CLI marks yet another milestone in CapitaLand's transformation journey. The ride ahead for CLI is an exciting one... as more global capital flows into Asia and the market increasingly appreciates the value of Asia-based REIMs. We will continually innovate and thrive amidst adversities, as seen in how we have persevered to complete this major restructuring during and in spite of Covid-19."

KGI's Mr Ng noted that CLI did well despite weakness in the Singapore stock market on Monday following the Hang Seng index's drop over fears of a possible default by China's Evergrande, the world's most indebted property developer.

CLI on Monday also announced the appointment of Mr Simon Treacy and Mr Patrick Boocock to its leadership council. They each have at least 20 years of experience in real estate, as well as experience working in Asia for leading REIMs.

Mr Treacy, formerly BlackRock Real Estate's managing director, global chief investment officer and head of US equity, will be appointed CLI's chief executive of private equity real estate.

Mr Boocock, previously managing partner and head of Asia at Brookfield Asset Management, will be assuming the role of CLI's chief executive of private equity alternative assets. He will be in charge of growing CLI's private fund business in alternative assets to expand the group's unlisted fund portfolios.

Both appointments will take effect by the end of November.

Mr Lee Chee Koon, group CEO of CLI, said of the appointments: "The building and deepening of our management bench strength and capabilities will continue to play an instrumental role in CLI's success going forward. While extending our dominance in the listed funds sector, we aim to grow, diversify and distribute new private fund products.

Mr Lee added: "Both the listed funds and the private equity business will augment CLI's AUM and FUM growth globally. We are committed to execute these growth strategies, which will span across multiple real estate asset classes; including current and new economy assets, as well as alternative assets such as digital and social infrastructures, private credit and others."

Mr Pol de Win, SGX's senior managing director and head of global sales and origination, said: "We are delighted to welcome the listing of CapitaLand Investment, a successful outcome from the reorganisation of CapitaLand to further scale up and unlock value for its shareholders... We look forward to growing our partnership and supporting CapitaLand Investment on our international listing platform, as it forges ahead with its new strategy."

SGX's real estate cluster now totals 103 listings with a combined market capitalisation of about $180 billion.