Analysis of Manulife US REIT IPO - A proxy for US Properties?

IPO Price = US$0.83

• Yield = 6.76%  
• Price-to-book Ratio = 1.059
• Assets per unit = $1.286
• Debt per unit = $0.502 (including current liabilities)
• Gearing = 39.0%

Finally we have a REIT IPO in our midst for listing. And this is unusual because this is going to be the first US REIT listed in SGX. Let's look at the statistics.

With a yield of 6.76%, I don't think it is that exciting. However, it is comparable to most office REITs like Suntec REIT or Capitaland Commercial Trust and which have most of their properties in Singapore. Their price-to-book ratio is not exciting as well, pricing it as one of the most expensive (but comparable to IREIT Global which is investing in European properties.) Gearing is at 39.0% which is quite close to the max.

Thus, I wonder why they are able to price it at the top end of their indicative range which shows that there is a demand for such properties. Maybe it is US-based which I have no knowledge about, especially their valuation process and also the yield. What I know is that US$ is still on the rise (although very slowly) so there is a currency advantage.

Since it is priced at the top end, I am going to assume that there is a lot of demand which is going to push the price up. If I manage to get hold on to some shares, I may just sell it off quickly at a profit.