ARA Asset Management Limited Seeks To Raise SGD700 Million-SGD800 Million In Singapore Yuan-REIT IPO-DJ

Dow Jones reported that Real-estate fund manager ARA Asset Management Ltd., an affiliate of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., is planning to raise between SGD700 million and SGD800 million (USD557 million and USD636 million) by listing some of its Asian assets in yuan-denominated initial public offering in Singapore, people familiar with the situation said, the first outside Hong Kong or China. ARA expects to get listing approval from the Singapore Exchange either this week or next week, and hopes to complete the listing by the end of June or in early July, one of the people said. The Company has started meeting potential cornerstone investors for the IPO, the person added. Cornerstone investors subscribe to a fixed portion of the IPO ahead of the public offer to retail and institutional investors, but in Singapore they aren't necessarily committed to hold their stakes for a certain period of time, unlike in Hong Kong. Singapore-listed ARA--which manages private funds and real-estate investment trusts in China, Singapore, and Hong Kong with portfolios in residential and commercial segments--said in March that it was considering listing a yuan-denominated REIT with assets located in China, but didn't give further details. DBS Group, Standard Chartered and Macquarie are advising ARA on the deal.