OREANDA-NEWS. Singapore Exchange (SGX) today welcomed Perennial Real Estate Holdings Limited to Mainboard, under the stock code, “40S”.

This follows an acquisition of a portfolio of China and Singapore assets and management businesses by St James Holdings Limited (SJHL) for a consideration of S\\$1.56 billion from various vendors that was satisfied by an issue of new shares in SJHL, and the renaming of the company to Perennial Real Estate Holdings Limited (PREHL).

With the acquisition, PREHL is now a commercial property developer with large-scale mixed-use integrated developments in China, two of which are the largest high-speed railway commercial hubs in the country. Its properties in Singapore include Capitol Singapore, Chijmes and TripleOne Somerset.

As part of the exercise, PREHL also acquired units in Perennial China Retail Trust (PCRT) which is listed on the Mainboard of SGX. It subsequently made a voluntary offer for the units in PRCT that it does not own in exchange for new shares of PREHL. By the close of the voluntary offer on 22 December 2014, PREHL had acquired 96.32% of PCRT, and had  announced that it will exercise its rights to compulsorily acquire the remaining units of PCRT.

Pua Seck Guan, Chief Executive Officer of Perennial Real Estate Holdings Limited, said, “The listing on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange marks a significant milestone for the Group. In China, the high-speed railway commercial hubs, Chengdu East High Speed Railway Integrated Development and Xi’an North High Speed Railway Integrated Development, are well positioned for growth. The portfolio is complemented by prime Singapore properties which enjoy excellent transport connectivity and will provide steady income streams. Together with the trading income from the strata sale of mixed-use projects, rental income from long-term investment properties and fee income from management business, the Group is well poised to grow its net asset value (NAV) over time.

“With the listing, we have created a sizeable and diversified real estate platform which is backed by a strong consortium of sponsors who have extensive business experience and established relationships, and coupled with an experienced management team with a proven track record, the Group is committed to delivering long-term growth to shareholders.”

Lawrence Wong, Head of Listings, SGX, said, “We are pleased to welcome Perennial Real Estate Holdings to SGX.  Its portfolio of properties and projects in Singapore and China provides an interesting mix of investment focus for our investors.  We look forward to seeing more real estate companies tap Asia’s growing wealth through a listing on SGX.”

Shares in PREHL opened at S\\$1.05, giving the company a market capitalisation of over S\\$1.2 billion. The listing of PREHL brings the total number of real estate companies and trusts to 90, with a market capitalisation of S\\$173 billion.”