Data centre NTT DC REIT makes tepid debut after Singapore's biggest IPO in 4 years
SINGAPORE: Singapore's NTT DC REIT, a data centre real estate investment trust, had a lacklustre market debut on Monday after riding a wave of AI interest to raise $773 million in the city-state's biggest IPO in four years.
NTT DC REIT shares ticked higher to $1.03 in the first 30 minutes of trade on the Singapore Exchange, versus their $1.00 per unit offer price. The benchmark stock index was up 0.4%.
NTT DC REIT, whose primary backer NTT Ltd is part of Japanese telecommunication giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, has six data centres in Austria, Singapore and the United States, valued at $1.6 billion.
Its cornerstone investors include Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC with a 9.8% stake - the second-largest investor after NTT Ltd with 25%.
The listing underscores global investors' growing appetite for data centres in the Asia-Pacific region driven by high growth potential and strong demand for artificial intelligence services.
NTT DC REIT's IPO was Singapore's biggest since the $977 million IPO of Digital Core REIT in 2021, LSEG data showed. It was also Southeast Asia's biggest IPO since the $942.9 million IPO of Thai Life Insurance in 2022.
GROWING IPO PIPELINE
The Singapore Exchange has seen growing interest from listing hopefuls since announcing measures in February to strengthen its equities market, including a 20% tax rebate for primary listings.
"There is a broad base of potential REIT IPOs on the horizon, including data centre, industrial, logistics, hospitality, commercial and retail assets," said Art Karoonyavanich, global head of equity capital markets at DBS.
"This marks the first time we have such a pipeline within a 12-month horizon and these IPOs could raise anywhere between S$600 million ($468.27 million) to around a billion."
Beyond REITs, Hong Kong-listed China Medical System (CMS) in set to debut a secondary listing on the SGX on Tuesday.
"We believe that upon completion of the proposed secondary listing on the SGX, CMS will be able to attract funds focusing on Asia-Pacific investments and local capital in Southeast Asia, thereby optimising the shareholder structure," CMS told Reuters.
Other firms seeking to list in Singapore include Foundation Healthcare as well as Centurion which plans to list an employee dormitory REIT.
Singapore's growing IPO market comes against a backdrop of a strong stock market where the benchmark index has risen more than 8% this year and set all-time highs in the past nine trading sessions, LSEG data showed. - Reuters
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