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NTT DC Reit gained as much as 3 per cent on Monday in its trading debut, outpacing the benchmark Straits Times Index. This came after it secured the city state’s sovereign wealth fund as a rare cornerstone investor.
The US$773 million data centre listing is being closely watched as the spark that could revive Singapore’s moribund IPO scene, following an all-hands-on-deck effort to reboot it. There was a palpable sense of relief among the executives, bankers and exchange officials at the trading ceremony, where a big barrel of sake was broken to symbolise new beginnings and good fortune.
With the IPO, Singapore hopes to join the party in the region. Bourses across Asia-Pacific have been raking in new listings, with firms raising US$39 billion of fresh capital so far this year, the most since 2023. Hong Kong – the world’s top IPO venue this year – and India are booming, while the city state has watched from the sidelines.
“This listing is hugely important,” said Pol de Win, head of global sales and origination with bourse operator Singapore Exchange (SGX). “The IPO market has been challenging for a while, so it’s important to see a high quality asset come to market and show the way for others.” The exchange, along with banks and others, had been in talks with NTT executives for years, he said.
Underscoring the stakes for the country, its sovereign wealth fund GIC bought more than US$100 million worth of units as a cornerstone investor, making it the real estate investment trust’s second-biggest shareholder. It was the first time GIC provided such support to a local IPO, notwithstanding the 2010 jumbo listing of its overseas logistics unit, based on Bloomberg checks.
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