Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust makes strong debut

Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust makes strong debut
By Brandon Tanoto | Posted: 07 March 2013 1854 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust (MGCCT) - Singapore's largest share sale in two years - jumped by as much as 12.4 per cent on its trading debut on Thursday.

The REIT, the fourth sponsored by Mapletree Investments, opened at S$1.02 and closed the session at S$1.03 - some 10.7 per cent higher than its initial public offering price of S$0.93 per unit.

The REIT was nearly 30 times oversubscribed and had raised close to S$1.7 billion in its IPO.

The REIT includes the Festival Walk shopping mall in Hong Kong and the Gateway Plaza office complex in Beijing, China.

Mapletree Investments - a unit of Temasek - currently has five assets in China under its private funds portfolio.

The trust's sponsor said these may potentially be acquired by the REIT in future.

Mr Chua Tiow Chye, Board Director of Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust Management, said: "For MGCCT, we're focusing on the first-tier cities, as well as top tier, second-tier cities like the inland cities of Chongqing, Chengdu and Wuhan. In the first-tier cities, it will be the three regions of Shanghai, Suzhou and the Nanjing area - so these are actually the main growth areas of China which contribute more than 50 per cent of the GDP for the overall China market."

Meanwhile, MGCCT has introduced a new management fee structure to reward management for distribution per unit (DPU) growth.

Mapletree Investments said it will consider implementing this scheme for the three other REITS it sponsors - namely Mapletree Logistics Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust and Mapletree Commercial Trust - if the firm receives feedback or requests from investors to do so.

- CNA/de

- wong chee tat :)