General Announcement::SGX welcomes Manulife US REIT to Mainboard

Issuer & Securities

Issuer/ Manager
SINGAPORE EXCHANGE LIMITED
Securities
SINGAPORE EXCHANGE LIMITED - SG1J26887955 - S68
Stapled Security
No

Announcement Details

Announcement Title
General Announcement
Date &Time of Broadcast
20-May-2016 14:23:44
Status
New
Announcement Sub Title
SGX welcomes Manulife US REIT to Mainboard
Announcement Reference
SG160520OTHRL7RS
Submitted By (Co./ Ind. Name)
Carolyn Lim
Designation
VP, Marketing & Comms
Description (Please provide a detailed description of the event in the box below)
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today welcomed Manulife US REIT to Mainboard under the stock code BTOU .
Manulife US REIT is the first pure-play United States office REIT to be listed in Asia. Its principal investment strategy is to invest, directly or indirectly, in a portfolio of income-producing office real estate in key markets in the US, as well as real-estate related assets.

Backed by sponsor Manulife, a part of leading Canada-based financial services group Manulife Financial Corporation, the initial portfolio of the REIT comprises three office properties in prime areas of key US cities, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Jill Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Manulife US Real Estate Management Pte Ltd, said, "We are delighted to celebrate the successful debut of Manulife US REIT, which is the first pure-play US office REIT to list in Asia. We believe Manulife US REIT s superior IPO portfolio of strategically-located freehold quality assets, backed by a reputable Sponsor, offers investors a unique opportunity to participate in the world s biggest commercial real estate market, and to tap into the further recovery of the world s largest economy".
"We look forward to providing our Unitholders with resilient and stable distributions, embedded with strong organic growth. As the first mainboard listing in Singapore this year, we hope we will pave the way for more listings on the SGX in 2016," she added.
Chew Sutat, Head of Equities and Fixed Income, SGX, said, "We are honoured and delighted that Manulife US REIT has chosen SGX as its listing destination, demonstrating our strengths as the leading Asian REIT hub with strong investors support and interest. This is the first SGX-listed REIT to be trading and paying distributions in US dollars, offering our investors a proxy to invest in the greenback, in addition to providing access to the commercial real estate market in the world s largest economy."
With a market capitalisation of US$520 million at IPO, the listing of Manulife US REIT brings the total number of SGX-listed REITs and property trusts to 40, with a combined market capitalisation of about S$67 billion.
Manulife US REIT opened at US$0.82 today.
-End-

Attachments

20160520_SGX_welcomes_Manulife_US_REIT_to_Mainboard.pdf
Total size =286K