(Oct 3): Lendlease Global Commercial REIT’s stellar IPO debut is yet another testament to the hunger for yield among Asian investors.
The real estate investment trust, part of Australia’s Lendlease Group, started trading on the Singapore bourse Wednesday, surging 6.3% at the open from its offer price. This is the biggest jump among the city-state’s REITs in the past six years, since SPH REIT opened at 8.8% above its offer price in 2013.
See: Lendlease Global Commercial REIT makes trading debut at 93.5 cents
“People are chasing it for the yield,” said Jin Rui Oh, a Singapore-based analyst at United First Partners. “If one looks at the commercial REITS, not many are giving about 6% yield” so people will move into this stock, he said.
The REIT is expected to pay out an annualized dividend yield of 5.8% for fiscal year 2020 and 6% for 2021. This is at a premium to peers such as CapitaLand Mall Trust and Frasers Commercial Trust, which yield about 4%, said Geraldine Wong, an analyst at KGI Securities Singapore.
Investors have been piling into Singapore REITs as central banks across the globe cut interest rates amid economic growth concerns. The sector was the top institutional net buy for the first eight months of the year, drawing inflows of $211 million, Singapore Exchange’s CEO Loh Boon Chye said at a speech during the IPO ceremony.
See: Lendlease Global Commercial REIT public tranche 14.5 times subscribed – highest for S-REIT in 5 years
Adding to its appeal, the REIT attracted 13 cornerstone investors including BlackRock Inc., DBS Group Holding, Lion Global Investors and Temasek Holdings’ Fullerton Fund Management.
The FTSE Straits Times REIT Index has risen more than 18% this year, compared with 1% gain in the city-state’s benchmark index. Shares of the Lendlease REIT closed 4.6% higher.
