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Independent Singapore
5 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
GIC-backed NTT DC REIT positions Singapore as ‘regional hub for AI-related investment opportunities' despite muted trading debut, analyst says
SINGAPORE: The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Data Centre Real Estate Investment Trust (NTT DC REIT), backed by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Japan's NTT Group, raised US$773 million (S$990.9 million) in its initial public offering (IPO), marking the largest listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) since 2017. While the IPO was oversubscribed, its first day of trading on Monday (Jul 15) was muted, and analysts were less impressed. Still, CMC Markets sales trader Oriano Lizza said the listing would help strategically position Singapore as a 'regional hub for AI-related investment opportunities,' as reported by Channel News Asia ( CNA ). On Monday, the REIT began trading on SGX at 2 p.m., opening at US$1.02 (S$1.31) — slightly above its offer price of US$1. It rose to a high of US$1.03 during the session but ended the day back at US$1. Mr Yutaka Torigoe, CEO of the REIT's manager, said he was heartened by what he called an 'excellent debut,' noting it reflected investor confidence in the REIT's portfolio quality, its growth prospects, and the overall outlook for data centres around the world. See also GIC is now 3rd most powerful asset owner in the world However, Jonathan Koh, director of research at UOB Kay Hian, said they had hoped the unit price would reach US$1.10, but the market reaction was more muted than anticipated. He noted that investors could be holding back due to ongoing trade tensions and the threat of higher tariffs, which have added to business uncertainty. Mr Lizza, who described the share price move as 'notably measured rather than exuberant,' added that 'while the IPO was 4.6 times oversubscribed overall and the public offer was 9.8 times oversubscribed, the tepid price performance actually demonstrates mature investor behaviour.' He said the price movement suggests institutional discipline rather than retail speculation, noting that long-term holder GIC holds a 9.8% stake. Mr Lizza also highlighted the current elevated interest rate environment, which typically weighs on REIT valuations, adding that investors are 'appropriately pricing in execution risk,' given NTT DC REIT's portfolio, which spans three continents. According to the IPO prospectus, the NTT Group is the world's third-largest data centre operator through its global business arm, NTT Global Data Centers (NTT GDC). On Monday, when asked why the company chose Singapore over Tokyo, Doug Adams, President and CEO of NTT GDC, told CNBC's Squawk Box Asia: 'The Singapore market is a great market for data centres in general, and we believe the best market in the world for data centre REITs. What makes Singapore unique is the fact that Singapore appreciates global portfolios of data centres.' /TISG Read also: Former Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean to step down from GIC's board on June 30 after announcement of joining Temasek Featured image by Depositphotos
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Philip Yeo to step down as CDL director at the end of July
SINGAPORE: Mr Philip Yeo will retire as a director of City Developments Limited (CDL) on Jul 31, the company said in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Jul 15). Mr Yeo, 78, has served on the board of CDL, one of Singapore's largest property companies, for 16 years. He is a non-independent non-executive director at the company. CDL's filing stated there were no unresolved differences in opinion on material matters between Mr Yeo and CDL's board of directors. Mr Yeo's notice of retirement comes several months after a boardroom tussle and legal battle between CDL's executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and his son Sherman Kwek, who is the company's group CEO. In February, the older Mr Kwek had accused his son of attempting a boardroom "coup" and filed a lawsuit against him over alleged governance lapses, after Mr Sherman Kwek sought to appoint new independent directors without full board approval. Mr Yeo had joined the feud on the side of the older Mr Kwek, publicly criticising Mr Sherman Kwek after the younger Mr Kwek named his father's associate Dr Catherine Wu as the source of the dispute. The older Mr Kwek subsequently dropped the lawsuit against his son two weeks after filing the suit, saying then that all the board members had agreed to "put aside their differences" for the "greater good" of CDL and its stakeholders. However, during CDL's annual general meeting in April, Mr Yeo said he was "very disappointed" with how some of the board members had pushed through with new director appointments earlier in the year, and called their actions "totally improper", Bloomberg reported.
CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
Roblox launches IP licensing platform, partners with Netflix, Lionsgate
Roblox launched a licensing feature on its videogame platform on Tuesday, allowing intellectual property holders to integrate their characters and worlds into its games. It has signed licensing partnerships with companies such as Netflix, which would allow developers to use characters and names from the streaming giant's popular shows "Stranger Things" and "Squid Game" in their games. Other licensing partners include Lionsgate, Sega and Japanese publisher Kodansha. Roblox has been aggressively trying to grab a larger share of the videogame market and expand its revenue sources by diversifying beyond gaming and turning the platform into a hub for socializing, commerce and advertising. Introducing a platform for licensing property with popular characters and names from highly recognizable media could draw more people to its games, which appeal to a large cohort of Gen Z users. "We have a goal to have 10 per cent of all gaming content revenue flowing through the Roblox ecosystem and benefiting our community," said Manuel Bronstein, chief product officer at Roblox. "This will require having a wide range of experiences and giving creators the opportunity to partner with rights holders of the most recognizable IP," he said. Roblox had previously worked with media companies such as Warner Bros Discovery, launching special advertising campaigns and games around a specific property to drive consumer engagement. The License Manager would enable rights holders to register and create licenses, offering them quickly to creators in days or hours rather than months, Roblox said. The company also plans to onboard more IP holders throughout the year and aims to open the License Manager to all eligible IP holders in the coming months. It is even exploring additional license types.
