Singapore Exchange (SGX) informed that it has today welcomed Keppel-KBS US REIT to Mainboard under the stock code “CMOU”.
Keppel-KBS US REIT is a Singapore real estate investment trust with an initial portfolio of 11 income-producing commercial assets in seven cities across the US. The REIT Manager is jointly owned by Keppel Capital, the asset management arm of Keppel Corporation and a premier manager of real estate assets in Asia, together with KBS Pacific Advisors Pte Ltd., an established commercial real estate investment manager in the US – both of which are also the sponsors of Keppel-KBS US REIT.
David Snyder, CEO and CIO of Keppel-KBS US REIT Management Pte Ltd., said:
The positive demand from both institutional and retail investors is a reflection of their confidence in Keppel-KBS US REIT’s high-quality portfolio and unique investment proposition that is backed by strong visible growth opportunities, both organically and through future acquisitions. The successful listing is the start of an exciting growth journey for Keppel-KBS US REIT. We will continue to leverage the strength of both Sponsors, while executing our sound growth strategy, as well as exercising active portfolio and capital management initiatives to provide stable and growing distributions to Unitholders.
Simon Lim, Head of Equity Capital Market (Sectors) at SGX, commented:
We are delighted to welcome Keppel-KBS US REIT to SGX Mainboard. As a US office REIT trading in US dollars, investors can use it as a proxy for investing in the greenback, while diversifying overseas and gaining exposure to the growing US office real estate sector. More than 70% of our REITs and property trusts hold assets outside Singapore, and today’s listing continues this rising trend that we are seeing of more pure play overseas REITs.’
With a market capitalisation of US$553.1 million, the listing of Keppel-KBS US REIT raises the number of SGX-listed REITs and property trusts to 42, with a combined market capitalisation of about S$86 billion. SGX is the largest REIT platform in Asia ex-Japan. Together with real estate companies, the overall real estate cluster has a combined market capitalisation of S$204 billion.
Keppel-KBS US REIT opened at US$0.895 today.