China state-owned property developer Greenland Group and investment firm Amare are preparing to list a hospitality REIT in Singapore, local daily The Business Times and Reuters reported on 11 March.

The REIT will reportedly buy 19 hotel properties, based in China and overseas, from Greenland for CNY21 billion (SGD4.45 billion).

No indicative timeline was given as to when the REIT is expected to list on the Singapore Exchange on how much the group expects to raise from the offering but the reports suggest that an initial public offering can be expected soon.

Should the deal proceed, the REIT will be the first to list on the Singapore Exchange in 2016 against the backdrop of weakened business sentiments in the country.

Late in the previous year another China-linked REIT, BHG Retail REIT (SGX:BMGU),went public on the Singapore mainboard. The REIT raised almost SGD395 million in its initial public offering.