Li flagships to take 29pc of Prosperity REIT offer
Amy Gu and Raymond Wang
Monday, October 31, 2005
Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa will subscribe up to a combined 29 percent in Prosperity REIT, a portfolio of seven properties worth HK$4 billion that is expected to become the first real estate investment trust to be listed in Hong Kong
The firms, controlled by Li Ka- shing, are obligated to subscribe for up to 18.58 percent and 10.42 percent of the total units.
Cheung Kong shareholders have the preferential right to subscribe to one unit of the trust for every 32 shares of the company, it said Sunday.
Cheung Kong said an application has been lodged with the stock exchange for the proposed listing of the trust, which will buy the properties from it and Hutchison for HK$4 billion, a discount of about 11.9 percent to the valuation appraised by an independent surveyor as of the end of last month.
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Cheung Kong, Hong Kong's largest developer by market value, will reap HK$2.43 billion from the sale, representing about 1.3 percent of its shareholders' equity as of the end of June.
The properties consist of three office buildings, three industrial and office premises and an industrial property, with a total gross rentable area of 1.2 million square feet.
Those include the Metropolis Towers, a 15-story office tower in Hung Hom; MLC Millennia Plaza, a 32-story office building in North Point; the commercial component of the Harbourfront Landmark development in Hung Hom.
Others include Modern Warehouse, a 27-story industrial and office building in Kwun Tong; the Trendy Centre, a 30-story industrial/office building in Lai Chi Kok; Prosperity Centre, a 26-story industrial and office building in Kwun Tong; and New Treasure Centre, a 30-story industrial building in San Po Kong.
The timetable for Prosperity Trust's listing hasn't been unveiled. Sing Tao Daily reported earlier that Cheung Kong plans to list its REIT on November 21, ahead of the Link REIT listing, a portfolio of Housing Authority shopping centers and parking garages, expected to go public on November 24.
HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Asia) will act as Prosperity REIT's trustee.
The manager will be ARA Asset Management, a Cheung Kong 30 percent-held unit that also manages its two Singapore real estate investment trusts, Fortune REIT and Suntec REIT.
Analysts say the planned secondary listing of Fortune REIT, a portfolio of 11 malls and properties across Hong Kong, is unlikely to beat the Link REIT and Prosperity REIT to become the first real estate trust listed in Hong Kong. Under regulatory guidelines, to qualify for a Hong Kong listing, a REIT should be under local legal jurisdiction. Fortune REIT is domiciled in Singapore.
Shares of Cheung Kong fell 1.24 percent Friday to close at HK$79.60.
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