Citicore subsidiary eyeing ‘high investor interest’ in REIT listing
By Myrna M. Velasco – January 24, 2022, 3:27 PM
from Manila Bulletin
Citicore Energy REIT Corporation (CREIT), a subsidiary of Citicore Power Inc., is expected to corner ‘strong interest’ on its real estate investment trust (REIT) listing, wich will be the first for such asset class in the renewable energy (RE) industry to be undertaken.
According to Ben Thomas Pañares, president and CEO of Unicapital Inc., “most of the institutions, especially those who have integrated ESG (environmental, social and governance) as part of their investment process, are highly attracted to CREIT’s underlying business, which is renewable energy, and its sustainable angle.”
Unicapital has been tapped by CREIT as its issue manager and joint global coordinator; and will also serve as joint bookrunner and lead local underwriter for the REIT offering.
The book-building period for this pioneering REIT listing in the renewable energy space runs from January 19 to 25 this year; while the offer period is slated on February 2 to 8.
Eduardo V. Francisco, president of BDO Capital and Investment Corporation, similarly noted “we expect there to be strong interest in the offering, considering its pioneering status as an energy-REIT and a sustainable investment alternative in the renewables sector.”
The bank executive emphasized that they are also “quite excited to see how this trailblazing issuance from CREIT will shape the REIT market.”
For BDO being the joint global coordinator, joint bookrunner and lead local underwriter for the offering, Francisco indicated that so far, “we are happy with the turnout of our virtual meetings and the overall positive interest in CREIT among those we have met.”
To date, CREIT has also firmed up the engagement of the Professional Stock Transfer Inc. (PSTI), to act as its receiving agent and stock transfer agent for the scheduled initial public offering.
CREIT’s listing already secured regulatory approvals this month – both from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Taking off from those developments then, CREIT President and CEO Oliver Tan conveyed that “we are finally closing on our main goal, which is the listing date, and completing all the prerequisites to ensure a smooth process and transactional flow after receiving the green light from regulators.”
He similarly sounded off “we hope to receive strong and positive feedback from our investor roadshows and marketing initiatives, which we believe will be key to ensure CREIT’s successful IPO.”
CREIT’s parent firm Citicore is focusing on portfolio build-up that will mainly lean on renewable energy installations – and its initial developments are on the solar technology domain.
