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Manulife Financial Corp seeks US$421 million in Singapore office trust IPO

Manulife U.S. REIT is looking to sell 694.4 million units at a fixed price of 82 Singapore cents apiece, according to a prospectus on the Singapore central bank’s website

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Manulife Financial Corp., Canada’s largest life insurer, is tapping investors including Oman’s sovereign fund as it seeks to raise S$569 million (US$421 million) in the biggest Singapore initial public offering in almost a year.

Manulife U.S. REIT is looking to sell 694.4 million units at a fixed price of 82 Singapore cents apiece, according to a prospectus on the Singapore central bank’s website. The insurer will offer an estimated 6.3 per cent dividend yield for 2016 in the Singapore offering of its U.S. office properties.

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“It gives Manulife increased visibility,” said Vikrant Pandey, an analyst with UOB Kay Hian Pte in Singapore. “The REIT appetite is good in Singapore.”

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REITs and business trusts were the biggest fundraisers in Singapore’s IPO market in the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A measure of property trusts traded in Singapore has slipped 0.4 per cent this year compared with the 2.6 per cent drop in the benchmark Straits Times Index.

Cornerstone investors in the IPO include Oman Investment Fund, Fortress Capital Asset Management and Nikko Asset Management Asia Ltd., according to the prospectus.

The offering could become the biggest initial share sale in Singapore since July last year, providing a boost to a bourse that has seen just US$41 million raised through IPOs this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The REIT will be backed by three office properties in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Orange County, California. DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are managing the offer.

Bloomberg News

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