At the briefing, Chong described the drama in the 20 days to Dec 11. Hongkong Land had plans to divest its one-third stake in Marina Bay Financial Towers (MBFC) 1, 2 and 3, One Raffles Quay (ORQ) and its 100% stake in One Raffles Link. Keppel REIT and Suntec REIT each own a one-third stake in One Raffles Quay and MBFC Towers 1 and 2. Before Dec 11, Keppel REIT held a one-third stake in MBFC Tower 3, Hongkong Land held a one-third stake, and DBS held the remaining one-third. DBS is also the anchor tenant of MBFC Tower 3.
During Suntec REIT’s results briefing on Jan 23, Chong Kee Hiong, CEO of Suntec REIT’s manager, was clear about how he wants the REIT’s portfolio to take shape.
Ideally, the REIT plans to divest a mature Australian asset to prime its portfolio for a Singapore asset from its new sponsor. The change in ownership of the manager and the new sponsor is subject to approval by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
