Investors pondering the fate of the much awaited SPH REIT may have finally received the signal marking the end of the limbo. Newspaper publisher Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has filed a preliminary prospectus with the Singapore's Central Bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for the listing of the highly anticipated SPH REIT.

SPH REIT
Properties that will be injected into the SPH REIT include the Paragon, a fully tenanted shopping mall along a busy stretch of  Orchard Road

The preliminary prospectus was filed Tuesday has indicated the the IPO will be offered between 85 Singapore cents to 90 Singapore cents. At the offer price, the REIT aims to raise between $523 million and $554 million via an offering 308.88 million units.

There are no indications from SPH as to the exact date of the listing. But based on past precedence, listings will usually occur within the month of prospectus filing, with some happening as soon as the week is up.

There were worries previously that the REIT could be delayed due to weakness in the Singapore REIT market. SPH has announced previously that it will be monitoring market conditions before deciding on whether to proceed with the IPO for the SPH REIT. Singapore REITs have taken several tumbles over the last few weeks, virtually wiping out all gains made for 2013. Certain well established names such as Ascendas REIT have gone back to lowest prices since July 2012.

We will be covering the SPH REIT IPO in a detailed analysis in the upcoming issue of REITSWEEK, available specially for our subscribers. To receive your issue of REITSWEEK sign up for a free one month trial here.

By Ridzwan Rahmat

Ridzwan has been analysing REITs and business trusts since 2008, and personally manages a portfolio comprising mainly of SGX-listed REITs. He founded REITsWeek in 2013.