Canadian financial services company Manulife is said to be considering a REIT listing in Singapore that could be worth some USD488 million - USD530 million and has begun pre-marketing activities for an IPO.

Uncorroborated reports carried by various US-based financial media say that Manulife US REIT’s portfolio will have an initial property of three Grade A commercial properties across the United States.

The properties are namely a 12-storey office building at 1850 M Street in Washington, a 21-storey office tower at 515 South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles and a 19-storey office tower at 3161 Michelson Drive in Irvine, California.

Weighted average lease expiry of the properties is said to be 5.1 years while occupancy stands at 97.7% with 83 tenants in total. The properties’ top 10 tenants are said to account for 58% of income while rental escalations of between 2% and 3.5% are said to have been built-in for 83% of the leases.

Should the IPO materialise, Manulife’s offering will be the first REIT in Singapore to offer exposure into the US property market. The REIT is said to offer a dividend yield of just under 6%, on par with current yields paid by Singapore-listed office REITs. Manulife is said to be retaining a stake of 9.5% in the REIT post-listing.

An IPO for the REIT is said to have been targeted for 15 July following the outcome of lodgment that will be made to the Singapore Exchange on 29 June. There is yet to be a price indication for the IPO.