STOCKS | Seazen Proposes Spin-Off Of Two Retail Mall Assets Into Shanghai REIT

Seazen Group (01030) said it plans to spin off the property interests in two wholly owned retail malls into a commercial real estate REIT for separate listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with an expected size of about RMB 1.541 billion, according to ETNet. The company said it will subscribe for about 34% of the REIT units, while external investors will take up the remaining 66%. Proceeds are expected to be used to replenish working capital and repay onshore debt. The two malls are Nantong Qidong Wuyue Plaza in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, a seven-storey retail mall with gross floor area of about 80,000 square metres, and Changzhou Tianning Wuyue Plaza in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, an eight-storey retail mall with gross floor area of about 123,000 square metres. The company said the REIT had pro forma profit of RMB 108 million last year and pro forma net asset value of RMB 970 million at the end of March. It added that the proposed spin-off would broaden financing channels and activate existing assets.