Manulife Asset Management is offering investors in Asia the rare chance to put their money in a real estate portfolio in the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal (paywall).
The firm is embarking on around $450 million initial public offering in Singapore of properties in the U.S. and the deal will be packaged as a real-estate investment trust, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the matter. The offering could be the biggest in Singapore this year, the report said.
Hong Kong has overtaken Singapore in terms of IPOs. Hong Kong recently ranked among the top IPO markets in the world alongside the mainland China, as a string of Chinese firms preferred to do their initial share sale in the former British colony amid strong investor interest on its equities market.
Some industry players blamed the low turnover in Singapore compared to Hong Kong, and especially Shanghai, for the lackluster interest of companies to launch IPOs in the city-state.
There are hopes that the Manulife transaction could infuse some life into Singapore’s IPO market.
Manulife Asset Management had 98 billion Canadian dollars ($77 billion) of assets under management in private asset classes as of March 31, 2015, according to its website.
Photo credit: Sacha Fernandez via Flickr