JTC Appoints Mapletree To Manage Reit

Source : The Business Times, February 2, 2008

Trust due to launch in middle of the year, subject to market conditions.

JTC Corporation yesterday said that it has appointed Temasek unit Mapletree Investments to establish and manage its upcoming real estate investment trust (Reit). The Reit is set for launch about the middle of this year, ’subject to market conditions’, JTC said.

JTC - Singapore’s biggest industrial landlord - said last July that it plans to sell up to $1.6 billion of assets, a big chunk of which will be pumped into a Reit. Industry players have said that the Reit’s initial portfolio is expected to be worth more than $1 billion.

JTC said that appointing Mapletree is a milestone in its divestment exercise, after it announced a request for proposals to explore the appointment of a Reit manager last year.

‘We received quality submissions from a wide range of international and local players,’ said JTC chief executive Ow Foong Pheng. Mapletree was chosen after a rigorous selection process, she said.

Mapletree aims to grow its capital management business, its chief executive Hiew Yoon Khong has said.

‘This appointment reflects the recognition, both locally and internationally, of our capabilities in managing industrial properties and in structuring and managing Reits,’ he said yesterday. Mapletree already has one Reit - Mapletree Logistics Trust - under its belt.

JTC Reit’s portfolio will comprise a range of high-rise ready-built properties including flatted factories, ramp-up and stack-up factories and multi-tenanted business park buildings, the landlord said yesterday.

The asset portfolio is attractive, Mr Hiew said, adding: ‘It is well diversified in terms of tenancy, location and asset type.’ The properties also enjoy high occupancy rates, a quality tenant base and long-term tenants, he said.

Market sources said that Mapletree beat several competitors to manage JTC’s Reit, including Singapore’s CapitaLand and Australian-listed property and wealth management company Goodman Group.

Previous reports have said that UBS, Goldman Sachs and DBS are in line to underwrite the offer.