Billionaire Brothers' IOI Properties Explore Options For Singapore, Malaysia Assets
The South Beach, located in the Singapore central business district, houses the JW Marriott Hotel ... More and an office block.
IOI Properties—controlled by Malaysian billionaire brothers Lee Yeow Chor and Lee Yeow Seng—is weighing its options on how it could monetize its commercial real estate in Singapore and Malaysia, worth almost $9 billion based on analyst estimates.
The Kuala Lumpur-listed company has been expanding its property footprint in Singapore where it recently agreed to take full ownership of South Beach—a mixed use property housing the JW Marriott Hotel and an office tower—in a deal valuing the complex at S$2.75 billion ($2.1 billion) by acquiring the 50.1% stake of City Developments, which is controlled by billionaire Kwek Leng Beng and his family.
'With its stable cash flows and prime location, South Beach is well-positioned to anchor IOI Properties' planned asset monetization exercise via a Singapore REIT listing,' Tan Kai Shuen, an analyst at Hong Leong Investment Bank in Kuala Lumpur, wrote in a recent research note.
The Singapore REIT—comprising the South Beach complex and the newly completed IOI Central Boulevard Towers in Marina Bay—could be listed by 2027 with assets worth as much as S$8 billion, Tan wrote. IOI Properties is also developing yet another Singapore landmark, a W Residences Marina View, comprising a hotel and a residential condominium.
Tan said IOI Properties could separately list a Malaysian REIT with assets worth as much as 8 billion ringgit ($2.4 billion) as soon as next year. The group's assets in Malaysia include the IOI City commercial complex in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur. The flagship property comprises a shopping mall (the biggest in the country with a gross floor area of about 2.5 million square feet), office towers and hotels.
The company did not confirm nor deny the listing plans for the two REITs when asked to comment on Hong Leong Investment Bank's report.
'IOI Properties Group will strategically consider and review various possibilities in regards to monetizing our assets as we look to ensure the group's sustained growth ahead, both in Malaysia and Singapore,' the company said in an emailed statement. 'We are keeping our options open for any opportunities by leveraging and optimising our position in creating additional value for our stakeholders and strengthening our diverse offerings.'
With a combined net worth of $5.2 billion, the Lee brothers are among the wealthiest in Malaysia. They are the sons of the late Lee Shin Ying, who built a thriving palm oil and property business until his death in 2019. Lee Yeow Chor runs the palm oil business under separately listed IOI Corp, while his younger brother Yeow Seng helms the real estate company.
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