Temasek unit Mapletree plans two Singapore REITs

SINGAPORE, June 30 (Reuters) - Mapletree Investments, a real estate firm wholly owned by Singapore state investor Temasek [TEM.UL], on Wednesday unveiled plans to list two real estate investment trusts, including an industrial REIT with S$1.73 billion ($1.23 billion) in assets.

Mapletree Industrial Trust, which comprises flatted factories, business parks and warehouses, may list in the second half of 2010, Chief Financial Officer Wong Mun Hoong said at a media briefing. "We have plans to launch more REITs and private real estate funds, including an industrial REIT comprising the Mapletree Industrial Trust portfolio," said Mapletree CEO Hiew Yoon Khong.

He added that Mapletree Commercial Trust, whose assets include Vivocity, Singapore's largest mall, could also be listed soon.

Private equity property funds in the pipeline include: a Vietnam fund in which Mapletree may inject existing commercial and residential projects into, a China-focused fund that will invest in a wide range of property assets, as well as a China industrial fund and a Japan fund focused on investing in IT-related infrastructure.

Mapletree owns or manages about S$13 billion ($9.4 billion) worth of real estate assets.

Its listed property trusts include Lippo-Mapletree (LMRT.SI), whose main assets are Indonesian malls, and Mapletree Logistics Trust (MAPL.SI), which owns warehouses and other industrial properties across Asia.

The firm is one of Singapore's largest developers, comparable in size to Keppel Land (KLAN.SI), Singapore's third listed largest developer by market capitalisation, but well behind regional heavyweights CapitaLand (CATL.SI) and City Developments. (CTDM.SI) (Reporting by Charmian Kok and Kevin Lim)