The largest Indian realty firm seeking to list a Reit structure in the Lion City is also the country’s leading listed property firm. Delhi-based DLF is putting together a $1.5 billion Reit that is set to complete its Singapore initial public offering in the second quarter of this year, despite, in the words of one investment banker, "just truly appalling market conditions".
Two other domestic firms are also lining up to sell shares to global investors via Reit structures on the Singapore bourse.
Unitech, which is also listed on London’s AIM, plans to raise upward of $700 million via a Singapore listing. The Indian company has not yet finalized its plans but it is expected to suck several large land banks into its new structure, named Unitech Office Trust, including six information technology parks and special economic zones dotted around India, with a total leasable area of more than 10 million square feet.
Finally, there is Indiabulls Real Estate, one of the country’s youngest but fastest-growing property firms. The company, which also runs a hugely successful financial services division, is seeking a Singapore listing by mid-March of its recently created division, Indiabulls Properties Investment Trust (IPIT).