Charoen’s realty arm to set up Bt10-billion REIT
THE PROPERTY arm of beverage tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s Univentures and Golden Land are to set up Golden Ventures REIT worth up to Bt10 billion to support their business expansion this year and next.
The Golden Ventures REIT has a final share price of Bt10 per unit, ready for subscription between March 14-18. The underwriter is Kasikornbank.
Sittichai Mahaguna, head of Kasikornbank’s investment banking business, said that the REIT will invest mostly in 25-year leaseholds of Park Ventures Ecoplex (excluding the Okura Prestige Bangkok) and 24-year leasehold of land and buildings at Sathorn Square. They have a combined rental space 100,000 square metres.
Golden Ventures REIT will raise funds via equity offering, debt financing, and rental deposits to invest in the assets of both buildings at the maximum price of Bt10 billion. Golden Ventures REIT has already received permission from the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer for sale the newly issued trust units.
However, this is a limited offer. Neither retail investors nor the general public will be eligible; it is only for clients or potential clients of the sole underwriter and selling agents. The sole underwriter reserves the right to shorten the subscription period in case of over-subscription, he said.
Univentures’s president Worawat Srisa-an said that the capital raised from the REIT will help fund the company’s business expansion this year and next.
This year, Univentures is targeting revenue of Bt15.3 billion, up 15 per cent from last year, when it recorded total revenue Bt13.4 billion. Around 82 per cent of total revenue is derived from residential sales, which come mainly from its subsidiaries Golden Land Property Development, and Grand Unity Development, and the rest from its rental business.
According to Jirayong Anuman-rajadhon, managing partner of Jaydee Partners, the two prominent properties have received attention from major firms, as well as leading retailers and restaurants. At the end of September 2015, the occupancy rate of Park Ventures Ecoplex was around 99 per cent, with an average rental rate of Bt907 per square metre per month, while Sathorn Square’s occupancy rate was around 96 per cent, with average rental rate of Bt745 per square metre.
Therefore, Golden Venture REIT should be considered as an alternative investment which can generate stable income with growth potential. The quality of assets that Golden Ventures REIT will invest in opens up an opportunities for investors to get a satisfactory return from their investment, she said.
