INVESTORS may soon be able to own a piece of VivoCity – Singapore’s largest mall – by the mid of next year, according to Mapletree Investments chief financial officer Wong Mun Hoong.
Mr Wong said the firm is planning to list a commercial real estate investment trust (Reit) – Mapletree Commercial Trust – that will raise at least $500 million.
It will hold about $3 billion to $4 billion of commercial properties – anchored by VivoCity mall, which is valued at $2 billion.
Other commercial properties owned by Mapletree Investments, such as Merrill Lynch HarbourFront, the PSA Building and Mapletree Business City may be included.
It will be listed by the first half of next year if market conditions are good.
The news comes as the initial public offering (IPO) of Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT), which will raise gross proceeds of $1.19 billion, was launched yesterday.
But Mapletree Investments, the property firm owned by Temasek Holdings, is already gunning for another big issue in the form of the commercial Reit.
‘It will not be a small IPO,’ said Mr Wong, adding that the timeline for the listing depends on how markets pan out.