Philippines' 3rd REIT Company to List Raises P12.6 Billion in Stock Market Debut

Filinvest REIT Corp, the real estate investment trust subsidiary of Filinvest Land Inc (FLI), made its debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, August 12. The initial public offering raised P12.6 billion, which the company plans to use for land acquisition as well as the expansion of its portfolio of office buildings, residential mid-rise buildings and industrial warehouses.

The IPO involved a total of 1,634,187,850 common shares and an overallotment option of up to 163,418,785 common shares. Each offer share was priced at P7.

According to Filinvest, FILRT’s IPO drew strong demand from international and domestic investors, about 75 percent of which were qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). The rest were offered to REIT-eligible trading participants and local and small investors.

In her speech, Filinvest Land President Josephine Gotianun-Yap highlighted the significance of the IPO occurring in the middle of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the most severe lockdown orders in the city to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, particularly its more transmissible Delta variant.

“Not only have we made history as the country’s first sustainability-themed publicly listed real estate investment trust or REIT,” she said. “Our IPO may also be considered the ‘bravest’—given that our stock market debut took place when we are under ECQ conditions.

“Filinvest REIT’s initial portfolio of 17 buildings has been handpicked for the quality and diversity of its prime multinational BPO tenants,” she added. “It is situated in Filinvest City, the country’s first LEED-Certified central business district, supported by a host of sustainable features. Filinvest REIT will serve as the financial platform for Filinvest Land’s commercial assets, and we are committed to its success. As we continue to expand our REIT portfolio, we will strive to bring better and sustainable returns to our shareholders and investors.”

During a virtual press conference with members of the media after the listing ceremony at the PSE, Yap expressed an overall positive outlook for REITs in the country.

“I think we are seeing more and more education in REITs as an asset class,” she said. “It’s important to have the entry of more reputable player, including ourselves, to build up REITs as an important asset class.

Yap added that the company plans to maximize its current portfolio of businesses before moving on to new areas. She mentioned recent partnerships Filinvest Land and parent firm Filinvest Development Corp has entered into with National Grid (NG) for renewable energy, Hitachi, and Changi and JG Summit for the management, operations, and maintenance of Clark International Airport.

“Many of our businesses we haven’t been optimized so there’s still room for growth,” she said. “We need to optimize current areas of strength because we see lots of capacities there.”

FILREIT is now the third REIT to list in the PSE, after Ayala Land’s AREIT, and Injap Sia and DoubleDragon’s DDMP REIT.

Robinsons Land’s RL Commercial REIT has also obtained approval from the PSE for its IPO scheduled in September, as did Megaworld’s subsidiary MREIT.

https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/capital/filinvest-reit-stock-market-debut-a00289-20210812