A local executive search firm is on the lookout for a CEO to lead a REIT towards listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) this year.
According to a job posting published April 8 on Tri-Cap Consulting’s website, the CEO of the REIT manager will have to drive “the application and listing process” on the SGX. They will also be leading “capital-raising initiatives”, such as engaging in roadshows and pre-marketing activities to secure cornerstone investors and managing the IPO fundraising process, according to Tri-Cap Consulting.
A LinkedIn post by Tri-Cap Consulting director Sharlotte Lee says the “potential REIT” is “looking to get listed this year”. The portfolio of the potential REIT will involve an “excellent asset class (not the usual) we have seen in the capital markets scene and in tandem with the upward trend/trajectory”, writes Lee.
Under the requirements for the job, Tri-Cap Consulting is searching for executives with “more than 20 years of experience in finance, law, business [or] accountancy”, or with at least a decade’s experience in senior executive roles within the real estate industry.
See also: Blackstone-AirTrunk's Singapore REIT IPO could raise US$1.5 bil, banks picked — Bloomberg
Candidates with experience in investment banking, corporate finance or initial public offerings (IPOs) “will be held in high regard”, adds the firm.
Tri-Cap Consulting’s website also lists two other job openings for a “potential REIT listing” — a financial controller role was posted on Jan 12, and an investor relations professional role was posted on Feb 26.
Notably, the job description of the financial controller role says its “primary mandate” is to “spearhead the financial readiness for a potential REIT listing” and “manage the migration of all finance operations from HQ to Singapore”, suggesting that the sponsor is a foreign company.
See also: Could UOL list a REIT?
Separately, the job description for the investor relations professional role outlines properties in “one of the very interesting asset sectors with a global mandate”.
It is unclear if these three roles are related to the same potential REIT listing. The Edge Singapore has contacted Tri-Cap Consulting for more information.
IPOs in the rumour mill
A few potential REITs have been rumoured to be preparing for a listing here. Earlier this month, media reports emerged that AirTrunk, the data centre operator Blackstone Inc bought in 2024, has picked banks for a REIT listing on the SGX, which could raise about US$1.5 billion ($1.9 billion).
The data centre assets would satisfy Lee’s comment that the potential REIT will feature an “unusual” asset class.
See also: Who stands to gain from SingLand’s Marina Square redevelopment?
There are other potential REITs with more conventional assets. In June 2025, Hong Leong Investment Bank analyst Tan Kai Sheun said IOI Properties Group’s Singapore REIT — likely to consist of South Beach and IOI Central Boulevard Towers — is targeted for launch in 2027.
Tan based his report on a meeting with IOI Properties’ group CEO Lee Yeow Seng. Earlier that month, IOI bought out City Developments’ (CDL) stake in South Beach for $834.2 million in cash.
Lee told The Edge Singapore in 2023 that an S-REIT listing makes sense. “It is about time we unlock value for our shareholders,” he added then in an exclusive interview.
Minor International, Thailand’s largest hotel and restaurant chain operator, is also rumoured to have picked SGX as the venue of its first REIT. The potential IPO, said to happen in 2H2026, will be worth about US$1 billion.
Finally, UOL Group has been the subject of market chatter for a potential S-REIT listing, with analysts from CLSA and JP Morgan adding credence to the rumour with respective reports last year.
Some $14.3 billion in assets could be injected into a UOL REIT. JP Morgan analysts Terence M Khi and Mervin Song even noted in a December 2025 report that UOL “has been building commercial and hospitality REIT management expertise”.
UOL CFO Eric Ng, who joined in 2024, was formerly the CFO of Keppel Infrastructure Trust. UOL chief investment and asset officer Shirley Ng, who joined in 2023, was deputy CEO and head of investment for Keppel REIT.
Outside the C-suite, SingLand’s head of investment and portfolio management, Joseph Lim, who joined in 2021, was formerly the deputy head of investment and portfolio management at CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT). Finally, the CEO of UOL’s wholly owned Pan Pacific Hotels Group, Choe Peng Sum, who joined in 2019, was previously CEO of Frasers Hospitality, where he launched Frasers Hospitality Trust.
UOL’s shareholders had asked the same question at its annual general meeting on April 28, 2025. In response, UOL said it evaluates “different options to create, improve and unlock shareholder value”. “The group is open to exploring a REIT structure, however this is dependent on market conditions.”
Read also:
Blackstone-AirTrunk's Singapore REIT IPO could raise US$1.5 bil, banks picked (April)
Thai hotel empire weighs US$1 bil SGX Reit, unit IPO to cut debt (February)
Paying for Marina Square (February)
Who stands to gain from SingLand’s Marina Square redevelopment? (December 2025)
Could UOL list a REIT? (September 2025)
IOI Properties eyes REIT to trim debt from acquisitions, say analysts (June 2025)
IOI's Singapore REIT targeted for 2027 launch (June 2025)
IOI Properties readies Singapore-listed office REIT as income profile shifts (October 2023)
