Robinsons REIT raises P23.5 billion

MANILA, Philippines — The Gokongwei Group’s RL Commercial REIT Inc. made its debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday as the country’s largest REIT IPO, raising P23.5 billion.

The deal, priced at P64.50 per share, was “overwhelmingly oversubscribed,” said RCR chairman Frederick Go yesterday.

This, he said, reflects investor optimism on RCR’s sponsor, Robinsons Land Corp.

RCR is the fourth REIT to list in the PSE since the Duterte administration issued its implementing rules and regulations on the REIT Act of 2009.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said RCR’s listing would help accelerate the country’s economic resurgence.

“Robinsons Land’s REIT offering is the largest to be listed in Philippine history in terms of market capitalization, portfolio valuation and assets size. This reflects the company’s impressive portfolio and its sterling record as a property developer,” Dominguez said in a speech during the listing ceremony.

RCR president and CEO Jericho Go said that as the largest REIT in terms of market capitalization and the largest IPO, RCR is able to attract the best and the biggest foreign funds.

“Earlier we mentioned being the largest in terms of market capitalization. This implies liquidity and it attracts the best and biggest foreign funds. At the same time, we have largest in terms of portfolio size,” he said in a press conference following the listing ceremony.

As the country’s largest REIT IPO, RCR’s market capitalization is at P64.2 billion or $1.3 billion at its IPO price of P6.45 per share.

Its share price closed at P6.46, up 0.16 percent after hitting a high of P6.55 and a low of P6.44 during the day.

RCR’s portfolio consists of players in the resilient business process outsourcing.

It has an initial portfolio of 14 commercial real estate assets with a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 425,315 square meters and an independently appraised value of P73.9 billion as of June 30.

Over 94 percent of its initial portfolio is spread across the central business districts (CBD) of Makati, BGC and Ortigas. Others are located in key cities of Metro Manila such as Mandaluyong and Quezon City, while the rest are in high-growth commercial hubs in Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Naga, and Tarlac.

Its leasable area is expected to grow through the full support of RLC, the majority owner and sponsor of RCR.

RLC is prepared to infuse one to two assets per year into the REIT, with plans to inject 40,000 to 100,000 square meters of GLA within the next 18 months.

Among the assets expected to be infused into RCR are Cyberscape Gamma and Robinsons Cybergate Center 1. Both have a combined GLA of 72,100 sqm, equivalent to approximately 17 percent of the portfolio’s total GLA of 425,315 sqm.

Cyberscape Gamma is a 37-storey PEZA-registered Grade A office development in the Ortigas central business district, with about 45,000 sqm of GLA while Cybergate Center 1 is an 18-storey PEZA-registered Grade A office building in Mandaluyong City with 27,300 sqm of GLA.

On top of this, RLC has existing office assets, business process outsourcing spaces located within its various commercial centers, as well as projects that are in various stages of construction.

RLC’s potential pipeline for infusions to RCR may reach a total GLA of 422,000 sqm over time.